African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 685: Chapter 373 Danger and Opportunity

”Ernst, according to the latest intelligence on the war between France and the Far Eastern Empire at Jilong, the French have failed again this time!” Ferdinand said gloatingly.

The news came from the Pacific Fleet, located very close to the military base in Southern Ryukyu, which is why the East African navy obtained this firsthand information.

The war between the Far Eastern Empire and France actually started last year, but the Far Eastern Empire only officially declared war on France this August. Based on Ernst’s predictions, the outcome of the war would still end anticlimactically.

It’s not that the Far Eastern Empire lacks combat power; rather, it’s due to a low desire for militancy and indecisiveness at the top levels of government. In recent years, the Far Eastern Empire has made substantial improvements in weapons and equipment, gaining an advantage in conflicts and wars against Russia, Japan, and the United States. However, when it comes to negotiations, concessions are always made, culminating in an agreement, making them an utterly indecisive weakling.

Ernst already knows the result of this war, so he is not interested in the Far Eastern Empire’s plight.

”Has the war affected our trade routes with the Far Eastern Empire?” Ernst asked.

”Naturally, it hasn’t. Even if the main naval battlefield happens in the Taiwan Strait, the first to worry would be the British. Besides, we can bypass the Taiwan route from the east,” Ferdinand continued, ”Moreover, the Pacific Fleet can always provide escort services for our merchant ships.”

At this time, the significance of the Southern Ryukyu Islands was apparent, and the only ones with ambitions in this area were Japan and East Africa. East Africa had previously won completely over Japan, whose naval power was just beginning.

”Although the Pacific Fleet has some strengths in the Far Eastern waters, it lacks support from large ships. According to discussions within our navy, we plan to allocate two ironclad ships to the Pacific Fleet.” Ferdinand, the Grand Duke, stated his intentions.

”Do the Southern Ryukyu Islands have the ability to accommodate large ironclad ships?” Ernst asked.

The Southern Ryukyu Islands are too remote within East Africa’s territory, so Ernst hasn’t paid attention to the construction progress there for a long time.

”We’ve built the Pacific Fleet’s home ports on Miyako Island and Ishigaki Island, particularly Miyako Island, where all construction work has been completed. The relevant infrastructure on the island has also been finished, so strengthening the fleet’s power in the Far East is imperative.”

Ernst: ”The Lan Fang Overseas Province in the Nanyang region should also be allocated one. I remember Kundian port’s conditions should be quite good, which can better connect the safety between the homeland and the Oriental routes.”

Ferdinand: ”That’s possible, but we need to formulate a new plan, and three ironclads are quite taxing for the homeland fleet.”

Even so, Ferdinand doesn’t feel a pinch, because thanks to Ernst’s promise back then, the navy has been continuously building new warships for replenishment over these years. It’s just somewhat challenging for his daughter since Karina is pregnant again this year, and new warships will need to be launched next year. The most important part is that the navy doesn’t have to spend money.

Moreover, some ships in East Africa, truthfully, are approaching retirement anyway, so transferring them directly to continue serving in the Far East and Nanyang regions isn’t too bad. Even if they sink, it wouldn’t be too distressing.

”The naval budget has increased quite rapidly these years. We should retire some of the older ships to make space for new ones, so let’s find a time to sell those nearing their due date while they still have value!” Ernst said directly.

The speed at which East Africa builds warships is too fast, so dealing with many of the older vessels is better, as maintenance costs exceed the East African navy’s capacity.

”It shouldn’t be that bad! Our warships haven’t generally exceeded twenty years of age. With regular maintenance, they can continue to serve for another thirty or forty years. Plus, they have good destinations, like in Nanyang, the Pacific, or even our Atlantic coast.”

”The navy requires continuous technological accumulation and innovation, and East Africa’s finances aren’t as abundant as other major powers, so naturally, it can’t maintain such a large fleet. Besides, lately, the East African military budget is tilting towards the army, so the navy shouldn’t take advantage and complain. Compared to you, the army has seen almost no development in the past ten years.”

Saying the army has seen no development is an exaggeration. In fact, the world’s armies haven’t changed much in recent years. On the contrary, naval competition has rapidly intensified, especially among countries like the United States, the Far Eastern Empire, and Japan, which have started focusing on naval power, primarily to address the increasingly tense international situation of the 1880s.

It’s relatively peaceful among European powers, but that’s precisely when it’s most dangerous for backward countries and regions, including East Africa.

Except for Germany, due to geographical limitations, Austria-Hungary, Britain, Russia, France, and even the United States have successively troubled the Far Eastern Empire, which is a distinctive characteristic of the 1880s.

East Africa can’t afford complacency either, because it has accumulated too much during the 1870s, marking it as a juicy target. However, the exact quality of East Africa is uncertain to other countries.

As for Portugal, which has previously contested with East Africa, it can’t serve as a benchmark. After all, Portugal fought with colonial troops against East African homelands.

Just like Britain’s invasion of Afghanistan, it was actually the colonial Indian forces fighting against Afghanistan. Even if they fail, nobody would underestimate Britain.

Because, in the end, a colony’s military power can’t compare to the homeland’s, Portugal’s colonial troops sometimes couldn’t even defeat indigenous forces around the world. They’ve stumbled against Native Americans, the Far East, Africa, Arabs, and others, so being bullied by East Africa is also quite normal.

Now East Africa waits to see when Portugal and Britain will probe the strength of East Africa’s military forces. After all, East African armies haven’t fought battles for some years, and previous records can’t serve as reference as its adversaries were all indigenous, lacking quality. After all, the British in their colonies also oppressed indigenous forces, such as in India, Canada, and Australia.

”Who do you intend to sell the ships to?”

”Let’s ask the Far Eastern Empire if they’re interested! After all, the French this time should make them more aware of the navy’s importance. And since the Far Eastern Empire has many enemies, they have to deal with more threats than we do in the future, so their demand is greater.”

Second-hand ironclad ships aren’t easy to sell; finding a client to take over wouldn’t be a loss for East Africa. After all, major powers generally manufacture their own, small nations can’t afford them, and only large nations like the Far Eastern Empire need ironclads.

Currently, the Far Eastern Empire mainly relies on numerous gunboats to maintain appearances, and ironclads are entirely absent. In fact, if the Far Eastern Empire made enough effort, they could build their own ironclad ships.

After the Battle of the Mawei Sea, the Fujian Shipyard learned from its mistakes, became self-reliant, and finally built the Far Eastern Empire’s first domestically-produced ironclad ship, ”Pingyuan,” in the late 1880s.

This era shows that the Far Eastern Empire’s military industry could still catch up with the world powers. Western weapon replicas aren’t difficult, like the ”Pingyuan,” which is comparable in quality to its European counterparts.

One can see from East Africa and Japan’s shipbuilding industries that both nations started their navies relatively late, but the crises and opportunities of the late nineteenth century coexist. Those who seize the opportunity can leverage the trend of the Second Industrial Revolution to quickly catch up in national strength with those established powers.