Austria's vanguard took over Barcelona, the most important city in Catalonia, without a hitch.
Friedrich personally disliked Franz's methods. After all, seizing a region through schemes and trickery, rather than bloodshed and sacrifice, seemed somewhat underhanded.
But Friedrich also knew that Franz was right.
Otherwise, even if he didn't take the Spanish fleet seriously, a garrison that held fast to its harbor fortifications would inevitably inflict some damage if the Austrian Imperial Fleet attacked by force.
If the fleets of Britain, France, and Spain then circled around and attacked from behind, they might indeed defeat the main force of the Austrian Imperial Navy.
But the odds of that happening in a head-on battle were less than one percent. The Austrian Imperial Navy held absolute superiority in the Mediterranean Sea.
As far as intelligence went, Austria had a one-sided advantage. Friedrich knew everything about his opponents, while they had seen only the tip of the Austrian Navy's iceberg.
Besides, Austria had allies in the Mediterranean. In Algeria, Duke of Aumale's fleet was the former Grand Orient Fleet of France, and its strength far surpassed that of the Spanish Navy and the New Eastern Fleet that the French had recently assembled.
Greece, Tripoli, and the Two Sicilies were all Austrian allies as well, and they could provide support to a certain extent.
Friedrich wasn't a battle maniac. He was proud, but not arrogant, and he wouldn't look down on an opponent just because they had surrendered.
On the contrary, years spent alongside Franz had made him more cautious. Aside from the six capital ships bringing up the rear, the vanguard consisted entirely of the latest fast vessels. If they spotted a trap, they could withdraw from the battlefield quickly.
As for those six capital ships, Friedrich doubted the Spaniards' old coastal guns