With Franz's intervention, the Admiralty's plan for a full-heavy artillery battleship was naturally adopted.

There was no fanfare, and there was no deliberate secrecy.

After all, it is only a test ship, and no one can guarantee its success. On the path of exploration of naval technology, the Vienna government has stepped on too many pits.

There are no surprises, and every failure is followed by a bunch of "hindsight" attacks. Making the Admiralty like a waste will only waste taxpayers' money.

In fact, the failure of new technology attempts is nothing, the point is the lack of a convincing record in the Navy. If the army had been replaced with a strong record, there would never have been such criticism.

"Eat a trench, grow a wisdom".

With the lessons learned from the previous experience, when exploring new technologies and new ideas, the Admiralty has taken a cold approach.

If it is successfully announced, it will be enough to enjoy the applause. If it fails, it will naturally swallow the bitter fruit silently.

This is the price that must be paid to stay ahead of the times. In the field of scientific research, there is no such thing as a constant victory. Behind every success, there are countless failures.

Of course, there is also a gap between failure and failure. It is forgivable that the performance of the test ship does not meet the design requirements, or it lacks actual combat capability, but the basic mechanical principles still have to be followed.

If the built ship sinks before it leaves the port, then it will be held responsible.

It's okay not to advertise, but "confidentiality" is not necessary. In fact, once a warship is on the slipway, it can't keep it secret.

The battleships of the 19th century are the embodiment of the highest industrial level of a country. To build a qualified battleship, it is necessary to cooperate with at least hundreds of related enterprises.

Such a big movement can't be hidden from the past. What can be hidden is nothing more than the performance parameters of the warship, and the construction of the warship is not a secret at all.

Even in the Holy Roman Empire, there were only a few shipyards that could build battleships. It was targeted by international spies early on, and when the materials were transported in, they knew that they were building ships.

Of course, the Vienna government can also play strategic deception if it so chooses. Putting a merchant ship in the dock of a battleship can also fool people.

It's just that it's not necessary. If it weren't for the fear of being too deliberate and arousing the suspicions of the British, Franz would have poked out the parameters of an all-heavy artillery battleship.

Naturally, people have to participate in the arms race. If the British don't know, how can they play?

"Secrecy", using the advantages of new technologies, to fight the enemy with a surprise attack, that exists only in theory.

The most important thing is that the "dreadnought" is full of uncertainty. Before the warship is launched, no one can guarantee that it will succeed.

If there is 100% certainty of success, Franz does not mind starting a dozen ships in one go, and immediately catching the British off guard after commissioning.

In fact, the path to the birth of the original space-time dreadnought was full of twists and turns. Everyone only saw the success of the British, and no one paid attention to the setbacks experienced behind it.

Ten years earlier, Franz did not dare to guarantee that the Admiralty's "dreadnought" program would really be flawless.

In case there is a problem with the design, it will be embarrassing to build a bunch of big toys that have no real combat value. The emperor could not afford such a political risk.

Gambling is a taboo for the monarch, and what the people need is a steady emperor.

Small countries have no more options to take risks; Large countries have more choices, a higher tolerance rate for error, and conservatism is king.

The parameters of the warship were not leaked, and the outside world was only regarded as an ordinary battleship, which was built almost every year by the HRE, so naturally it did not cause waves.

For all this, Franz was in no hurry at all. Anyway, when the warship is launched, the British will know. The stimulus for the London government will be even greater.

According to the plan, the construction of the first "all-heavy artillery battleship" of the HRE was to begin in early February 1898. If nothing had happened, it would have been launched in 1899.

The time was very good, and the Central Asian Railway was opened at about the same time. Maritime supremacy and India are threatened at the same time, and it is estimated that the British government will not be driven crazy, but will also be in a hurry.

……

In the evening, the Spanish Embassy in Vienna was lit up with music and a diplomatic ball began.

"Your Excellency, we really don't have the heart to spy on your colonies, aren't you tired of three days and two temptations?"

Wessenberg, the foreign minister of the HRE who was invited to the banquet, is now very troubled. I don't know where the Spaniards got the news of the HRE plot against Morocco, and Minister Brad has been pestering him every day for some time.

In order to verify the authenticity of the news, Weissenberg not only approached the military and the colonial ministry, but even sent a telegram to ask the Algerian province, saying that there were no similar plans "recently".

However, no matter what Weisenberg explained, the Spanish minister Brad in front of him did not believe it.

Well, that's not surprising either. The fact that there are no plans for Morocco in the recent past does not mean that there were none, much less that there will be no future.

On the issue of overseas colonization, the Vienna government was fully decentralized.

Not only the military and the colonial ministry can lead the colony development, but also overseas colonial governments, aristocrats, and civil society organizations can also open up colonies.

Generally speaking, it is enough to report to the nearest government before colonization activities start, and it is not mandatory.

Anyway, whoever is in charge is responsible, and the successful development of the colony is posthumously recognized by the Vienna government. Non-government planning, colonization failed, all the consequences at your own risk.

In recent decades, the Vienna government has issued 80,000 colonial licences, if not 100,000. There are many groups and individuals with colonial qualifications.

The forest is big, and there are all kinds of birds. With so many colonial groups, there are definitely not a few who are eyeing Morocco.

Among them, a few of them leaked their colonial plans to the Spanish government, which is normal.

Wesenberg has encountered similar protests many times. Mo said that it was a Spanish colony, and even the British colony also dared to watch it.

In general, these stay at the planning stage. Without the support of the Vienna government, few people dared to take concrete action.

Wesenberg can only guarantee that HRE officials have no idea of attacking Morocco, and as for whether there is anyone in the private sector to do something, it is none of his business.

In any case, Spain is also a medium-sized country, which is not something that a few civil colonial groups can provoke.

In Wesenberg's view, Minister Bullard's current nervousness is completely trivial.

As if he had been stepped on by the tail, Brad flatly denied: "Your Excellency, I really didn't try.

As you know, we've been suffering from war in recent years, and the government's finances are under a lot of pressure.

Although the colonial rebellion had been suppressed recently, it would still take a long time for the local economy to return to normal.

In the years that followed, our colonies would not only fail to generate wealth, but would need to be poured into it by the government.

In order to reduce the cost, the country is preparing to sell the Moroccan area after careful research. In view of the traditional friendship between us and your country, I have given priority to your contacts. ”

Obviously, Wessenberg's denial not only failed to clear the suspicion, but instead made Minister Bullard firm up his domestic judgment.

Since it was determined that Shinra was plotting in the Moroccan region, the Spanish government, which was powerless to resist, naturally had to find a way to stop the loss.

Anyway, you can't keep it, so you have to find a way to sell it at a good price. It's a pity that buyers are hard to find these days, and there are many countries that are eyeing the Moroccan region, but there are no countries that dare to take the tiger's mouth.

Even the British are not willing to run to be neighbors with the HRE for the sake of a Morocco.

For the British government, the longer the border with HRE on land, the greater the pressure.

It's easy to buy a Moroccan region, the question is what to do after the occupation? You can't deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to confront HRE for the sake of a Morocco, right?

The sea power countries went to the mainland to play against the land power countries, which is definitely a manifestation of the water in the brain.

To put it bluntly, the Spanish government has only a nominal suzerainty. It was obtained by illegal means, and the Moroccans simply did not admit it.

If Spain had completely occupied Morocco and established a complete order, perhaps someone would have dared to take prey.

After all, at this point, the Viennese government has begun to show face, and it is impossible to rob everyone of the colonies for no reason.

Unfortunately, the Spanish government can only sell it in one name. At most, there is control over the northern region, but this control area is not only limited in size, but also very lacking in control, and is often threatened by indigenous tribes.

In this context, spending a lot of money to buy Morocco may not only offend the Vienna government, but also send its own troops to war with Morocco, which is obviously a loss-making deal.

No one was willing to pay a lot of money, so the Spanish government had to put its ideas on the head of the Vienna government.

After a long period of contact and understanding, the Spanish government found that the Holy Roman Empire was different from the previous European overlords, and it was a lord who paid attention to his appearance and image.

For the Spanish government, the Vienna government's face is the biggest "benefit". Since the boss pays attention to his own image, he can't take advantage of the fire to rob.

Even for the purpose of "buying bones with a thousand dollars", the Vienna government, which does not want to bear the notoriety of bullying the younger brother, must give a high price.

Colonies, as a type of wealth, are tradable in their own right. The Spanish government almost sold Cuba in the original time and space, but the Americans had a little black.

Although they offered to buy, the conditions offered were empty promises full of pitfalls. You must know that the dollar was not an international currency at that time, and the US government was only willing to pay dollars, and it was not a one-time payment.

If 100 million dollars had been exchanged for 100 million pounds sterling and paid in cash, it is estimated that there would have been no subsequent Spanish-American War.

At this point, Wesenberg didn't bother to explain. Misunderstanding is misunderstanding, if you want to be the overlord, you can still be afraid that people will not be able to misunderstand.

Since the Spanish government dared to sell, the Vienna government dared to buy. Regardless, Morocco is also a rare place in Africa.

It is not only a fertile soil, but also known as "a cool land under the scorching sun" and "the garden of North Africa". More importantly, it can guard the gateway of the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.

In the hands of the Spanish government, Morocco's strategic value is infinitely close to zero. Once in the hands of the HRE, it will be able to lock the western gate of the Mediterranean.

When the domestic media boast, they can add another sentence: "The Mediterranean Sea is our inland sea".

Although such a boast is a bit unpopular, it will not have much opinion if you want to compare Spain, France, Greece, Montenegro, Sardinia and other countries that are also Mediterranean countries.

With military and political gains, even a nominal suzerainty cannot be cheap.

After a pause, Wesenberg said slowly: "Well, since your country is in financial difficulties, we can also understand the sale of the Moroccan region."

It's just that your country does not fully control the Moroccan region, and the Kingdom of Morocco still retains a certain amount of strength, so it has to be discounted on the price.

If your government really wants to sell it for a good price, I suggest that your country should send troops to occupy the Moroccan region and talk to us.

In that case, we will definitely offer a price that satisfies your country, and you will definitely not suffer a loss. ”

Knowing that it was unrealistic to "instigate Spain to send troops to Morocco", Wesenberg still didn't mind throwing it out.

It's not to lower the price, it's mainly to make Minister Brad recognize the reality, don't think that the Vienna government needs to pay attention to the appearance, and they can take the HRE as the main culprit.

As soon as the words fell, Minister Brad's face turned bright. If Spain had the strength to take out the Kingdom of Morocco, it would not have to wait until now.

As the closest country to the European powers, Morocco has been able to maintain its independence for so many years, in addition to the mutual containment between the powers, their own strength is also an important factor.

You must know that in order to deal with several indigenous tribes in the north, the Spanish government tossed back and forth several times, but did not completely solve the problem.

It is easy to say that sending troops to destroy the Kingdom of Morocco is simple. If it is really implemented, I don't know how much military spending will be required.

For the "satisfactory price" in Wessenberg's mouth, Brad directly chose to ignore it. Just listen to this kind of thing, if you take it seriously, you will be stupid.

"Your Excellency, in our current situation, it is no longer suitable to continue the war. For Spain, the most important thing right now is to recuperate.

As for the Kingdom of Morocco you mentioned, there is no need to care about it at all. An indigenous kingdom that, for yours, can be wiped out with little effort.

Even the army does not need to be mobilized, and at the behest of your Government, the civilian armed forces alone can wipe out Morocco ten times.

Such a little dust does not affect this transaction at all. ”

Tout, shameless tout. In order to sell the Moroccan region for a good price, Minister Brad apparently gave up his temperance.

Knowing that Brad was touting, Wessenberg still laughed unceremoniously. The hegemon wants the momentum of the hegemon, if you don't have confidence in your own strength, then how can you mix?

What's more, Brad's boasting is not too much. The Kingdom of Morocco is indeed not a problem for the HRE, and the HRE's civilian armed forces have a very high enthusiasm when it comes to expanding the colonies.

If HRE really gathers all the civilian armed forces, let alone destroy the Kingdom of Morocco, even if it is to kill Spain, it will not be a problem.

If you make a world army ranking, then it is:

First, the Holy Roman Empire;

second, the Russian Empire;

third, the private army of the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire;

……

There is no way, the status of these guys is all fought from the battlefield with a knife and a gun. It may not be possible to do something else, but there is absolutely no cowardice in fighting.

Before these military strongmen went to meet God, the private army of the nobles of the HRE was an important armed force.

"Your Excellency, there is no point in talking about this. Since your country really wants to sell the Moroccan region, why don't you make a price first? ”

It can be seen that Wessenberg is in a good mood. It seems that Brad's touting has worked, and he seems to be happy with the deal.

Minister Bullard: "All right, Your Excellency. The Moroccan region has a very large economic, military, and political value, and I think 300 million Aegis is a reasonable number. ”