Chapter 960
Profit stirred the heart. While the British had set their sights on the French warships, the Austrian Naval Ministry was also eyeing the vessels in French hands.
What appeared to be an ordinary contest over warships had, in reality, evolved into a struggle for maritime supremacy. The final ownership of the French warships would directly affect the coming world order.
At Vienna Palace, facing the impatient crowd, Franz calmly asked, "Do you think the French will obediently hand their warships over to us?"
To be frank, Franz had also coveted the French warships. To directly inherit the legacy of the French Navy and, by combining the naval strength of the two nations, surpass the British in one stroke—the picture was simply too beautiful.
However, cruel reality told him that it was impossible. The French and Austrian navies each had their own systems; merely integrating them would not be something accomplished overnight.
If time were the only issue, it could still be overcome. The trouble was that, under Franz's butterfly effect, naval technology had advanced far beyond its development in the original timeline. The birth of the dreadnought was now only one concept away.
If Austria obtained the French warships, the British, in order to preserve their maritime hegemony, would certainly increase their naval investment.
Once dreadnoughts emerged, the ironclads acquired at such great cost would immediately be swept into history's rubbish heap.
There was no doubt that Austria would follow suit once dreadnoughts appeared. When that time came, what were they supposed to do with these tasteless, discardable ironclads?
They certainly could not be sold. Even if they were given away for free, no one could afford to maintain them. The burden of the world's second-largest navy would be difficult even for the United Kingdom and Austria to