Franz did not immediately make a decision on the future naval development strategy. That would have to wait until after the Near East War ended.
However, he readily approved the funding for the navy to build ironclads. No matter what, spending a few million shields to secure the honor of building the world's first ironclad would pay for itself through the political gains alone.
The New Holy Roman Empire had only just been established, and the government needed good news to lift public spirits. Spending a few million shields on warships to buy a wave of national pride was far better than wasting money on face-saving vanity projects.
A global cruise was not something that could be carried out in a short time. At the very least, they needed an ironclad fleet for it to have a truly awe-inspiring effect.
Franz was no spendthrift. Before the first ironclad emerged and proved its superiority, there was no way he would build a whole pile of them at once.
Once the first generation of ironclads was completed and the shipyards had accumulated experience, subsequent technological upgrades would be much easier.
As for the performance issues of early ironclads, Franz was not worried in the slightest. At worst, they could be upgraded later and sold to the Americans during the Civil War.
The Americans were not the only ones. There were plenty of major international customers, and the Russians were one potential big buyer, though admittedly a rather poor one.
But Franz was not concerned. At worst, he could sweet-talk the Russians in the future and have the two countries jointly conduct naval research under the banner of saving funds.
The French had done the same before World War I, then dragged the Russians down into the pit with them. While everyone else