Sea Power

François - Etienne de Rosily - Ross immediately straightened his back and said in a steady voice, "Yes, Your Highness, the navy is ready to end the era of the United Kingdom dominance of the seas!"

He was promoted to Minister of the Navy two and a half years ago. His predecessor, Leissard, was inexperienced and was transferred by Joseph to the Naval War College as provost.

The eyes of the army and Intelligence Department officers in the Hall instantly focused on Rosily, their faces filled with shock and excitement.

Although these senior officers had heard about the navy's large-scale shipbuilding program to some extent, they believed that the French Navy could at most control the Mediterranean Sea by virtue of its steam power advantage, and was no match for the massive English Fleet in the Atlantic Ocean.

But Vice Admiral Rosily just said that he wanted to "end United Kingdom maritime hegemony," which proves that the French Navy has the strength to confront the United Kingdom head-on!

"Very good." Joseph nodded to Rosily. "Make sure to strengthen the training of the Sailor, don't worry about the budget. A strategic opportunity will soon arise in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, and I hope you can report back to France with the best results then!"

The "Eastern Mediterranean Sea" he referred to was naturally Egypt.

Last October, the France "Geological Survey Team" there had completed all the exploration work along the Pharaonic-era canals.

Yes, the Suez Canal, which took more than 20 years to complete in history, was finalized in just 5 years under Joseph's guidance. The France engineering team did not misjudge the Red Sea level, nor did they try the "South Line route" that relied on the Nile River. They designed it exactly according to the Suez Canal of later generations, which naturally made the process much faster.

Meanwhile, Egypt has developed very rapidly in recent years with trade and technological support from France.

Today, Egypt boasts three large Ironworks, and its output and quality of firearms far surpass those of the Ottoman. It even possesses the capability to perform basic Steam Engine maintenance. Its Finance revenue has more than tripled: this doesn't even include the profits Mehmed Ali gained in Syria.

In short, Egypt has initially acquired the national strength to construct the Suez Canal. As long as Mehmed Ali agrees to the France canal plan and provides manpower support, the canal will be operational within 8 to 10 years.

Joseph was quite certain that the King of Egypt would agree to assist France in digging the canal, because Syria was already in chaos. According to the deal made after the last "War to Retake the Holy City," Mehmed Ali had obtained a trade monopoly in Syria. But the profits from this richest region of the Levant were something that the Ottoman Empire and the local powers were unwilling to give up under any circumstances.

Just as Joseph had predicted, the Syria Pasha Abdullah, appointed by the Sultan, colluded with Azm, a high- Nobility in Damascus, to secretly support smuggling caravans and frequently clashed with Egypt Anti-Smuggling Squad for sheltering smugglers.

Mehmed Ali complained to Selim III several times, but did not receive a satisfactory reply.

Furthermore, the Bedouins raids on Egypt caravans angered Mehmed Ali, but Abdul Pasha forbade him from sending troops to attack the Bedouins.

Given the King of Egypt's temperament, how could he possibly tolerate this?

Security Bureau intelligence has learned that Mehmed Ali began mobilizing troops a year ago and could launch an attack on Syria at any time.

Joseph knew that the Ottoman Empire would never tolerate losing this largest source of tax revenue for the empire, and thus launched a full-scale counterattack.

This is how the first Turco-Egyptian War in history started. It can only be said that once Egypt becomes powerful, it will inevitably covet the Sultan of Constantinople.

For Egypt to defeat its massive overlord, it needed the support of France, or at least to ensure that France would not side with the Ottoman.

Therefore, the construction of the Suez Canal would be France's condition for doing so.

After the canal construction begins—no, not even before construction begins, as soon as Egypt and France sign the agreement to build the canal, United Kingdom will act as if its tail has been stepped on, and will send forces to Suez without regard to cost.

This is the "strategic opportunity" that Joseph just mentioned to the Minister of the Navy.

Vice Admiral Rosily took in the shocked expressions of the crowd, bowed to the Regent, and then announced triumphantly, "As you may know, the size of the British Navy is as follows: six First-rate Ship of the Line, eleven Second-rate Ship, eighty-one Third-rate Ship, and fifteen Fourth-rate Ship."

He paused deliberately, wanting to appreciate the solemn expressions on the faces of the army officers.

He was referring to Warship that could be deployed to combat at any time, with as many as 98 main battleships of level three and above! If you include ships that are mothballed or under repair, the total number would double!

Only Joseph knew just how crazy United Kingdom had become.

It's important to know that during the Battle of Trafalgar, United Kingdom had only about 80 Warship available to the entire country.

France today is far wealthier than it was under the Directory and Napoleon, and the number of ships it can build is naturally incomparable. Spurred on, the United Kingdom gritted their teeth and poured all their resources into building their navy.

Lieutenant General Rosily coughed lightly and continued, "Yes, it is a large naval force, but it is not invincible."

"As of this point, China possesses 4 First-rate Ship of the Line, 4 Second-rate Ship, and 31 Third-rate Ship ----"

The army officers' faces had turned pale. This small number of Warship wouldn't even be enough to satisfy the United Kingdom.

In fact, these heavy Warship were mostly started 20 years ago, and fewer than five were built after Joseph took office.

Rosily suddenly raised his voice. "And, 76 of the latest Tier Fourth-rate Battleship!"

"I know that some of you may be worried that our fleet appears to be weaker than the United Kingdom. But I want to remind you that we once drove the United Kingdom Third-rate Battleship out of the Mediterranean Sea with our 30-gun Cruiser."

"Now, our Fourth-rate Ship are fully capable of engaging the United Kingdom third-class and above battleships in a head-on battle!"

"United Kingdom will soon be unable to obtain supplies from its overseas Colony, and the military funding for Prussia and Austria will also be cut off!"

On the surface, France had fewer Fourth-rate Ship than United Kingdom had Third-rate Ship. However, France's advantage lay in its smaller maritime interests, allowing it to concentrate more Warship in the surrounding areas for decisive battles. United Kingdom, on the other hand, had to disperse a large number of troops around the world, such as the Indian Ocean and North America, to protect its overseas interests and prevent France from reaching those areas.

With the addition of the Spain Fleet, the third largest in Europe, the Franco-Spanish Allied Forces could deploy more Warship than United Kingdom in the area from the eastern Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

Needless to say, the combat capabilities of France's new Steam Warship far surpassed those of the United Kingdom's cumbersome, old-fashioned Warship.