Forcible Seizure and Plunder

In a sense, France's internal turmoil had delayed the Austrian Navy's expansion.

Pre-dreadnoughts were merely transitional products, with very short economic lifespans. In the original timeline, the glory of pre-dreadnoughts had lasted only a little over a decade.

Before the warships could even be retired, they had already fallen behind the times, making them an extremely uneconomical investment.

Although Franz knew perfectly well that these warships offered poor value for money, he still intended to build them—and on a massive scale.

Before the birth of the dreadnought, pre-dreadnought battleships were still formidable, at least surpassing every warship currently sailing the seas.

So long as Austria built them in large numbers, Britain and France would have no choice but to follow suit. Because of sea power, they would have to build even more warships.

A loss was a loss. So long as his competitors lost even more, Franz did not mind keeping this money-burning game going indefinitely.

Unfortunately, in suppressing France this time, he had underestimated the French people's revolutionary fervor. Coupled with a slightly unsteady hand, he had struck a little too hard and nearly sent the French Government to its grave.

Under such circumstances, even if the French wanted to follow the naval construction spree, reality would not allow it.

With no alternative, Franz could only slow the pace of naval expansion and wait until the French Government had stabilized the situation before resuming this loss-making game.

There was no need to worry about the French people's financial strength, at least not in the short term. Though they had suffered grievous losses in this crisis, not much wealth had actually flowed out of the country.

Industry and manufacturing had taken the hardest hit, but those sectors accounted for only a little over one-tenth of France's overall economy. The impact