"Uncle Friedrich, your strategy will make us face Britain's wrath head-on. Even if we win, it will be an unprecedentedly bloody victory. And how are we supposed to deal with Britain's retaliation afterward?"
Friedrich, however, dismissed Franz's words.
"Franz, I can only tell you that a decisive battle directly in the Strait of Gibraltar would be more advantageous for us, and easier to achieve.
"On the contrary, your idea of letting the British in and then destroying them one by one is unrealistic."
"Hadn't we done it before? You agreed to the battle plan as well."
Franz asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Before, our strength was too weak. We simply did not have the qualifications for a strategic decisive battle against the British. We could only wait for an opportunity and seize it.
"The hardest part of the plan to destroy them one by one was not the naval battle itself, but how to confirm the enemy's position and find them.
"Previously, we had the help of the French and Greeks, while the British were far too careless. That was the only reason our plan succeeded."
Count Latour, the Minister of War, also had a question.
"Archduke Friedrich, is our current investment in intelligence still inferior to the help we received from the French and Greeks?
"We even know exactly how many soldiers the British fleet has. Is that not enough?"
Friedrich shook his head.
"At sea, wind direction, wind speed, currents, and extreme weather can all affect a fleet's speed. Forgive my bluntness, but the sea is vastly larger than land, and finding the enemy is vastly more difficult.
"In our previous naval battle, luck accounted for a great part of our victory. We cannot expect miracles to happen every time.
"And this time, the British have already refitted a great