Vienna, Hofburg Palace.
Franz wasn't surprised by the British stabbing him in the back, but he hadn't expected their true objective to be the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi.
It seemed the British were truly obsessed with sea power. Even the slightest possibility of a threat to their maritime supremacy was enough to keep them awake at night.
Franz hurriedly dug out the naval plan Friedrich had sent him. According to Friedrich's original plan, by the time Franz's first five-year plan was completed in 1853, the Austrian Empire would possess:
Four Trieste-class super flagships, twelve Venetia-class super-first-rate battleships, twenty first-rate battleships, various light vessels, and 120 auxiliary ships.
The Trieste class referred to super flagships displacing over 7,000 tons. The Austrian Empire had produced only one so far, and all its specifications were top secret.
However, spies from other countries had still managed to gather some intelligence: the ship didn't carry many guns.
The Venetia class referred to super-first-rate battleships displacing over 5,000 tons. That was the Austrian Empire's own classification, though other countries didn't recognize it.
These ships were essentially enlarged, more heavily armored first-rate battleships, and they were currently the Austrian Empire's main warships.
Most of the Austrian Empire's auxiliary ships were transports. It also had two types of vessels that no other country possessed yet: minesweepers and minehunters.
This was incomparably stronger than back when a single old, retired British first-rate sailing battleship had been all it could put on display. Yet Franz felt a deep unease.
In this era, there was no such thing as sea power confined to a corner of the world. Even with the Russian navy hiding in the Black Sea and huddled in the Baltic Sea, the British still wouldn't leave it alone.
The Austrian Imperial Navy had won a series of remarkable