CHAPTER 616: CHAPTER 607: THE "FRIENDSHIP" IRONCLAD

Standing on the military port pier, Richard Metternich looked at the orderly operations of the dock workers in the distance, displaying a hint of surprise on his face.

Of course, Richard Metternich was not surprised by the port workers themselves, but rather by the strict discipline among the dock workers.

The workers on the dock operated like ants following a fixed trajectory, with discipline comparable to some regular army units. He couldn’t quite understand what force perfectly restrained them in place.

Even the dockworkers in London and at the Seine River don’t operate like this, and their Viennese counterparts are even worse than the previous two.

Richard Metternich couldn’t help suspecting that the dockworkers before him were a formal military unit.

At that moment, the voice of Jerome Bonaparte reached Richard Metternich’s ears: "Your management of the military port is quite good!"

"It’s all thanks to you!" Minister Deco said to Jerome Bonaparte, "If it weren’t for the management methods you designed, Toulon Military Port wouldn’t be what it is today!"

Management methods?

Richard Metternich subconsciously glanced at Jerome Bonaparte. From what Minister Deco just said, it seemed that the current state of Toulon Port was related to Jerome Bonaparte.

For the first time, Richard Metternich felt that there might really be an "omnipotent" monarch in this world; Jerome Bonaparte seemed to have delved into every aspect.

Compared to Jerome Bonaparte, the monarch he served was far inferior!

At this moment, he suddenly wanted to ask Jerome Bonaparte how much knowledge he had in his mind.

However, Richard Metternich refrained from asking Jerome Bonaparte rashly.

After all, Jerome Bonaparte was still a monarch, and Richard Metternich’s question would indeed be somewhat presumptuous.

As Richard Metternich pondered, he suddenly felt a hand resting on his shoulder.

He immediately came to his senses and looked towards the owner of the hand.

Sure enough, it was Jerome Bonaparte.

"Mr. Richard, what do you think?" Jerome Bonaparte proudly asked Richard Metternich, patting him on the shoulder.

"Your Majesty, I think Minister Deco manages the military port very well! Although there are many workers in the port, each one works in an orderly manner," Richard Metternich complimented Jerome Bonaparte.

Then, changing the topic, he bravely inquired of Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, what exactly is the management method that Minister Deco mentioned just now?"

"Oh, that!" Jerome Bonaparte pondered for a moment before telling Richard Metternich, "It’s actually no secret; it just takes enough money and strict discipline!

The wages of workers at such ports aren’t given based on monthly salaries but are instead based on the unit price of each item. The price for transporting different things onto the ship varies, and each transport step is linked with the next. Any delay in one step means that all workers in that section suffer losses.

Therefore, if they want to earn their wages, they must strictly discipline themselves while also supervising the workers of the previous transport step.

If any step of the transport process has an error, that person will suffer exclusion from the entire group of workers and will then be forced to leave!"

The management method described by Jerome Bonaparte is essentially about using "diligent" workers to govern "lazy" workers. When all the lazy ones are squeezed out, diligent workers naturally become the majority.

"Is that all it takes?" Richard Metternich showed some doubt on his face, not quite believing Jerome Bonaparte’s words.

"That’s all it takes!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Richard Metternich with certainty; he didn’t want to reveal the existence of the Yellow Union he set up at the Toulon Military Port to Richard Metternich.

Indeed, the reality was just as Richard Metternich imagined.

Thinking that simple supervision alone could control the workers is indeed wishful thinking, and thus, Jerome Bonaparte also established a Yellow Union. Ostensibly, this Yellow Union was set up to seek benefits for the workers. However, in reality, it was something Jerome Bonaparte put in place to prevent the formation of real union organizations, with the aim of weakening the will of those who wished to resist among the workers.

It only took the "workers" (strikebreakers) within the union to spread rumors, for example, that Italians might come to seize their jobs, creating an employment crisis feeling among the port workers, prompting them to obey obediently.

After all, each year a large number of Italians enter France through Savoy and Nice to work. Their wages are lower than those of French mainland workers, so many businessmen prefer to hire those lovely and industrious Italians.

Of course, they could unite with the Italians to protest, but at that time, the workers were not so conscious.

However, even if they were willing to unite, Jerome Bonaparte would order someone to disrupt it.

In an era of rising nationalism in the 19th century, calling for a grand unification of the proletariat was practically impossible.

The reason Jerome Bonaparte did not want to tell Richard Metternich about the Yellow Union was to prevent the Austrian Empire from accelerating too quickly.

Using the Yellow Union in conjunction with nationalism is optimal; for the Austrian Empire, nationalism would only lead to a dead end.

Seeing Richard Metternich still in doubt, Jerome Bonaparte decisively ended the topic and then ordered Minister Dico to take them to the location of the new warship.

Under the guidance of Minister Dico, Jerome Bonaparte and Richard Metternich walked to the end of the pier and arrived at the location where the French battleships were docked.

Richard Metternich’s expression changed from calm to astonishment as he was greeted by an entire row of battleships, standing like giants on the sea, creating a tremendous impact on him.

In front of these giant warships, anyone would feel how insignificant they are!

At this moment, Richard Metternich couldn’t help but think of the Austrian Empire’s warships at the Venice Port. Compared to the warships before him, the Venice Port’s warships seemed like child’s play.

These warships were only a part of France’s fleet in the Toulon Military Port, with another part currently in the Black Sea Region.

If these two parts were combined, they should be able to rival Britain’s fleet in the Mediterranean, Richard Metternich thought to himself.

As Richard Metternich’s gaze swept over the battleships in the military port, his eyes rested on the battleship in the middle.

This battleship was very different from the others; the others were made with wooden hulls, while this battleship had a hull made of iron and oak mixed together, with a layer of steel plating on the outside (a 12.7mm armored deck, which, from a modern perspective, didn’t provide much protection against artillery, but at least pointed the way for future ironclad warships).

This method of building warships with iron completely overturned Richard Metternich’s "common sense," making him doubt whether these warships could be used in real combat.

"Your Majesty, we used an iron hull as per your instructions, and plated it with an armored deck to increase the entire ship’s defense capabilities.

However, due to the iron hull, to lighten its weight, we reduced six of the 164mm cannons based on our experience with the previous warship (the Napoleon was equipped with 36 164mm cannons)," Minister Dico explained to Jerome Bonaparte fluently. "This ship is 83.26 meters long, with a width of 16.7 meters, a displacement of 6326 tons, and its draught and speed are 9.7 meters and 12.5 knots respectively..."

After Minister Dico provided all the fleet data to Jerome Bonaparte, Jerome Bonaparte compared it with the previous "Napoleon" as a reference.

In terms of ship length (Napoleon had a length of 17 meters), displacement (5529 tons), and speed (11.75 knots), this fleet far surpassed the Napoleon.

It could be said to be the first real ironclad warship, although the Napoleon could also be considered an ironclad warship.

After all, with the Napoleon as a pioneer, this new warship could be successfully born.

"You have done excellently!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded his head, then asked Minister Dico if they had named this warship.

"Your Majesty, if you don’t mind, we would like to name it after you!" Minister Dico responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"My name? That would not be appropriate!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head.

"Then you can name it!" Minister Dico handed the naming rights of the warship to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte took a careful look at the warship in front of him, then glanced at Richard Metternich and said, "Mr. Richard, what do you think I should name it?"

"Your Majesty, that depends on you!" Richard Metternich replied immediately, also curious about what name Jerome Bonaparte would choose for the ship.

After pacing back and forth a few times, Jerome Bonaparte looked again at the battleship before him: "Since this battleship was reviewed by Richard Metternich and me together, let’s call it Friendship. I hope the friendship between the French Empire and the Austrian Empire will be as indestructible as this warship. What do you say, Mr. Richard?"

"Your Majesty, that name is more than suitable!"