Holy Roman Empire

With the economic recovery, the financial revenue of the Vienna Government surged. The government would not just hoard the money, as it needed to be spent.

By the middle of 1897, various departments had already begun to roll up their sleeves, preparing to vie for the next year's budget.

The Emperor had gone on vacation, leaving the authority to allocate the budget in the hands of the Crown Prince. It was clear to all that this was the Emperor paving the way for his son.

There was nothing to oppose since, although the Emperor was still healthy, he was also 67 years old. In an era where life expectancy was less than fifty, that age was certainly considered "long-lived."

No one could guarantee that the aging Emperor wouldn't meet God suddenly one day. From this perspective, it was crucial to give the Crown Prince some practice in advance to avoid any potential chaos.

Unlike the bloody dynastic struggles of the East, Europe's succession laws were relatively well-established, and even the occasional power struggles were not brutal.

At least within the Habsburg dynasty, the internal struggles were not so intense; otherwise, Franz's Uncle Ferdinand I would not have acceded to the throne.

In this context, it was rare but not unprecedented for the Crown Prince to act in the Emperor's stead in official duties.

The most typical example was Franz himself who, after the great revolution, acted as Regent, and the Regency Council duly handed over the power.

Rules are rules; as long as everyone adheres to them, there should be no problems.

The situation was similar with Frederick; in fact, it might have been even better.

After all, Franz was still alive and well, just out on an extended vacation. Although the vacation was somewhat lengthy, it was harmless overall.

With a highly respected Emperor like that, those below him, despite their thoughts, had to keep them to themselves.

Though Franz rarely stirred trouble, the bureaucrats of the Vienna Government could never forget the remarkable scene of "thousands of officials resign, hundreds sent to the crematorium."

In fact, if someone were to take a closer look, they would find that the number of bureaucrats who fell from grace during Franz's era exceeded the total in several centuries since the founding of the Habsburg dynasty.

Of course, different eras are incomparable. The number of public officials in the Holy Roman Empire now far exceeded any number from past times.

Facing an Emperor who dared to break the usual rule of "no punishment for the masses" and even increased penalties, no one dared to act up.

These were lessons learned through the bloodshed of predecessors.

Since the establishment of the civil service examination system, there were always substitutes for anyone's position. The once insulated status of the bureaucratic group had long since vanished.

...

Putting down the document in his hand, Frederick asked with a hint of exasperation, "Your Excellency, the Minister, can you tell me the purpose of the navy's shipbuilding this time?"

The emphasis on "Your Excellency" clearly showed Frederick's disdain for the Navy's submitted "shipbuilding plan."

On the surface, it was just a few battleships, dozens of cruisers, and a fleet of destroyers. Considering the size of the Shinra Navy, it was routine to upgrade some of the naval ships every year; building so many at once did not seem excessive.

The issue lay with the "naval ship upgrades."

The Shinra's naval ships were retired according to strict regulations: either the performance could not keep up with the current demands, or they could be sold as second-hand, otherwise, they had to complete their service period.

After several consecutive years of upgrades, there was now a gap period, with no main battleships retiring within the next three years.

Without any ship retirements, there were no replacements, and under the fixed naval structure, the government would not allocate additional funds to build main battleships over the next two years. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire

Without extra budget allocations, the limited naval budget each year could not support this shipbuilding plan.

If it were only about building a few dozen more ships, it would be a matter of one or two million Divine Shields. For someone like Franz who personally managed the listing of a multi-billion-dollar oil company, this would not have caused such a huge reaction.

The issue was that the navy was never just about the ships; once the number of ships increased, the naval personnel would also need to expand.

Seemingly just wanting to build a few more ships was in fact an expansion of the military. This could not be resolved by spending one or two million but would increase the expenses by tens of millions of Divine Shields each year.

The Holy Roman Empire was fundamentally a land-based empire. If the navy's budget increased, surely the army and the air force would not sit idle either.

The domestic issues were merely trivial; the international ones were far more troublesome. The British were watching closely, and if the Shinra Navy expanded, the Royal Navy would surely follow suit.

There was no doubt that a new round of naval arms race had been ignited. Whether they liked it or not, the Vienna Government would be forced to engage in a "dumpling-making contest" with the British.

Upon careful consideration, Frederick knew that the naval shipbuilding plan was a massive pitfall, one that could devour all of the Vienna Government's additional fiscal revenue.

Setting aside international influences, if all the money was spent on military expenses, what achievements could he, the Crown Prince, claim?

Franz had appointed Frederick as regent precisely to allow him to accumulate achievements and demonstrate his ability to govern, thus boosting his prestige for his future accession.

If the money were spent on a "dumpling-making contest" with the British, probably everyone except the navy would be dissatisfied with him as the Crown Prince.

Frederick was not like Wilhelm II, who harbored a dream of naval glory. Having grown up in Vienna, Frederick was deeply influenced by continental culture, embodying a typical proponent of land hegemony.

Frederick had always scorned the British maritime supremacy. Was maritime supremacy really comparable to dominance over Asia, Europe, and Africa?

In the Holy Roman Empire, the most popular theory was still "He who owns the World Island owns the world." As for maritime supremacy, it was merely an adjunct to continental dominance.

Once the Holy Roman Empire had fully reaped the fruits of victory, British maritime supremacy would inevitably have to be relinquished, whether willingly or not.

Therefore, Frederick's current view of the Minister of the Navy was that "he is a bad person trying to ruin me."

It seemed that Castagni, anticipating the Crown Prince's discontent, responded calmly, "Your Highness, the British have been too idle lately. We must find something for them to do.

With the Central Asia Railway nearing completion, we need to create an opportunity for the Russians to deplete the British strength.

If all goes well, we might even assume the mantle of maritime supremacy from the British before the next round of England-Russia war concludes.

How can we fulfill the responsibilities of supremacy without building more warships first?"

Unbeknownst to many, the Vienna Government had grown fond of using their Russian allies as pawns.

To usurp British maritime supremacy, the Navy's first reaction was to let the Russians charge ahead.

A look at history books revealed that in recent decades, for all major enemies the Vienna Government faced, the Russians had always been the first to help by striking a blow.

During the First Near East War (Crimean War), they tackled England, France, and the Ottomans, paving the way for Austria to annex South Germany;

In the two Prusso-Russian wars, they helped dismantle Prussia, successfully preventing Shinra from erupting into a civil war for unification;

In the subsequent Near East wars, both Russia and Austria fought together, successfully defeating the Ottoman Empire;

Although Russia was absent in the European wars, on the matter of suppressing France, the Russians still made outstanding contributions and are continuing to fight;

Now, as Vienna faced off against London, the Russians were proving useful again. Even before the decisive battle began, there were already people in Vienna wanting to provoke an England-Russia war.

With the imminent completion of the Central Asia Railway, the chances of an England-Russia war breaking out were also increasing daily.

Thus, Russian-Austrian friendship was inevitable. Where else could one find such a considerate ally?

Although maintaining Russian-Austrian friendship was costly, when compared to the contributions made by the Russians, it was completely trivial.

Frederick admitted he was moved, but he quickly came to his senses. The Central Asia Railway wouldn't be operational for another two years; what was the rush?

Even if they were to provoke an England-Russia war, it must wait until after the railway was operational.

Before that, it was fine to let the British remain idle. In the future, they would be plenty busy; there was no need to rush.

Especially considering the recent actions of the London Government, which were continually challenging the Tsarist Government's limits. Over time, these minor conflicts would evolve into irreconcilable hatred between the two countries.

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