Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 276

Chapter 276: Chapter 25: Frederick
The birth of the firstborn son relieved many people, and the entire Vienna Court was filled with laughter and joy, celebrating the arrival of the new life.

In Europe, naming can be incredibly arbitrary, so much so that it leaves one flabbergasted, Franz knew there were even people who had used the same name for over a dozen generations.

Quite baffling, really, how they managed daily interactions; it’s not too confusing with sons and fathers sharing a name, they can be referred to as ‘Old’ or ‘Young.’ But can you imagine the chaos if there were five generations under one roof with the same name?

Considering such dreadful outcomes, Franz decided it was better to be cautious. Names associated with bad luck were instantly ruled out, starting with those unfortunate enough to have been assassinated or committed suicide in history.

At the family meeting, Franz asked, “What do you think of naming the little guy Caesar, or perhaps Peter, or maybe Frederick, Leopold? Of course, other suggestions are welcome too.”

Empress Sophie was the first to speak up, “I think Rudolf would be better, to avoid too many common names among the nobility.”

Franz finally understood the origin of the historical name Rudolf—it was decided by her.

However, the situation was different now. Faced with the precocious Franz, Empress Sophie’s influence had greatly waned.

When it came to naming rights for the child, Franz himself had more say. He opened up the discussion simply because he too was uncertain about a suitable name for his firstborn.

Archduke Carl suggested, “I think it should be Carl; I’m ‘Old Carl,’ and he’ll be ‘Young Carl.’ The name has such a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

This strained logic was immediately disregarded by Franz, who was still uncomfortable with naming conventions that allowed duplicates, especially within one’s own family.

Queen Helen proposed, “How about Franz? It would be convenient when addressing him.”

Franz rolled his eyes. Why did it feel like she was deliberately provoking him? But seeing her earnest expression, he was convinced she wasn’t trying to be troublesome.

The four influential people in the court each had their opinion, and none could persuade the others. Franz decided to disregard their suggestions.

“Then let’s name him Peter!”

“Why?”

“Why?”

“Why?”

Having just settled on his son’s name, Franz was immediately challenged with a collective inquisition. Facing three people seething with anger, he knew he had better provide a reasonable explanation or he mightn’t get off lightly today.

“Since all of you have different suggestions, to maintain family harmony, let’s exclude them all!”

Empress Sophie stated gravely, “Very well, then Peter should also be excluded for fairness.”

This proposal was supported by Archduke Carl and “Queen Helen,” and with a three-to-one vote, “Peter” was also discarded.

Franz said indifferently, “Alright, let’s just vote on the remaining options. Whichever name has the most support, that’ll be the little one’s name!”

Franz considered himself to have some integrity, after all, he didn’t choose any ridiculous names for his son. As a Crown Prince, face matters.

In Europe, people often have very long names; don’t be surprised if they seem strange. It’s likely because the parents couldn’t agree and ended up combining all proposed names together.

A single name accommodating an entire men’s soccer team is just the tip of the iceberg. There are even instances where parents essentially copy the lineup of a whole football squad.

As for how to address them in the future? With such parents setting traps, all these concerns are in vain.

“Let’s vote then!”

Everyone agreed to the democratic decision, and eventually, “Frederick” won with two votes. Franz suspected it might have something to do with the abundance of Emperor Charles in the Habsburg family.

Navy Minister Filkos said excitedly, “Your Majesty, our first ironclad ship has been completed, and it’s waiting for you to bestow its name.”

Indeed, the completion of the ironclad came at an opportune time, coinciding with the birth of the Crown Prince. It goes without saying, Franz knew this was orchestrated.

Coincidence? How could the world be full of so many coincidences?

Without doubt, in the coming days, the Vienna Government would receive a series of good news, all timed perfectly with the Prince’s birth.

There’s nothing odd about it – if the East can arrange auspicious signs, why should the Western world not follow suit? They are all bureaucrats, after all, no one lags far behind the others.

Franz said calmly, “Let’s name it Frederick.”

Since his subordinates were so considerate, of course, he wouldn’t oppose it. These actions weren’t too excessive – the most that could be said was that the ironclad waited a few days in the shipyard for the Crown Prince.

The objective was naturally to make its presence felt. Otherwise, with the birth of the Crown Prince, all the media in the New Holy Roman Empire would be preoccupied, and who would remember the ironclad ship?

The New Holy Roman Empire was a land-based power, and the public initially had limited interest in the navy. Missing the ironclad’s chance to draw attention meant the next explosive news to capture the public’s interest could be lightyears away.

Domestically, the public was more concerned about the birth of the Crown Prince, while internationally, the focus was on the “Frederick” ironclad ship.

Everyone was still engrossed with sailing warships, and suddenly Austria came up with an ironclad, causing much surprise – could this hunk of metal actually float?

On December 12, 1856, the day after the birth of the Crown Prince, the Frederick ironclad set sail from the Port of Venice for its maiden voyage.

There were no media present, as this was a military secret. Franz would not compromise the confidentiality of the warship’s internal information for the sake of saving face.

Frederick specifications:

Displacement: 8708 tons;

Length: 118 meters (length between perpendiculars 107.2 meters);

Beam: 17.6 meters;

Draft: 7.9 meters Power;

Steam and sailing hybrid propulsion, 1 horizontal reciprocating steam engine, 10 coal-fired boilers, 5770 horsepower output;

Single shaft single screw maximum speed: 14.56 knots

Coal capacity: 860 tons;

Armament: 10×110-pound breech-loading rifles, 20×68-pound muzzle-loading smoothbore cannon, 4×40-pound breech-loading rifles;

Armor: Armor belt 4.5 inches thick, lined with 18 inches of wood;

Crew: 695 men;

Cost: 800,000 Divine Shields.

Franz was just a novice in navy affairs, not understanding the jumble of specifications. However, he did understand one thing – the era of sailing warships had come to an end.

With its creation, “Frederick” broke many world records. It was the largest and most powerful warship in the world at that time.

Before similar warships were born, bullying sailing warships was effortless. That was enough.

Originally, it was meant to instill fear. Even with powerful combat capabilities, it couldn’t possibly close the gap in naval power between the Austrian Navy and the English and French navies with just one ship.

Ants could kill an elephant, this simple logic was something Franz understood. It was enough to scare people – why bother with fighting and killing?

London

As a maritime power, the emergence of the “Frederick” ironclad ship directly shocked the London Government.

Prime Minister Granville roared, “I need an explanation. Why have the Austrians gotten ahead of us? What has the Royal Navy been doing with the huge military budget we allocate each year?”

If the army had been surpassed, he could leisurely enjoy his coffee, since they were a maritime power. Even if the European armies were ranked, they wouldn’t make it into the top five.

The navy, however, could not bear this. The world’s number one Royal Navy had fallen behind in ship technology. Overnight, thousands of sailing warships could be scrapped.

This gap in expectations was clearly unacceptable to the British. Even if being overtaken for a short time is one thing, it should never have been by the inconspicuous Austrians.

Navy Minister James explained, “Prime Minister, the Royal Navy is already researching ironclad ships. The fact that the Austrians have created an ironclad first doesn’t mean their shipbuilding technology is more advanced than ours, only that they started earlier.

Since 1850, the Austrians have invested heavily in the development of ironclads. They began construction in early 1855 and took nearly two years to complete.

The Royal Navy only received funding to begin research and development this year, so a temporary lag is inevitable. In at most five years, we will be able to catch up and surpass the Austrians.”

Granville shook his head and said, “I don’t want to hear your explanations, save them for the Members of Parliament! What you need to do now is to announce our ironclad ship plan. We must build an ironclad as soon as possible, even if it’s just a prototype – we must have one!”

This was the typical way politicians thought. Prime Minister Granville’s concern was not the ironclad ship itself, but the chain of political reactions it brought about.

British pride could not tolerate any lag in the navy. Now overtaken, the Opposition party would certainly not miss this opportunity.

Fortunately, the Granville Cabinet had just taken office and had already launched the ironclad ship project. Thus, the liability could be pinned on the predecessors for missing the window to develop ironclad ships resulting in a temporary technological lag.

Foreign Minister Thomas cautioned, “Your Excellency Prime Minister, according to the intelligence we have gathered, the ironclad built by the Austrians has a displacement likely between 8500 and 9000 tons, and is also equipped with breech-loading rifles.

Once this ironclad enters service, the naval balance in the Mediterranean will be disrupted, and our Mediterranean fleet will no longer be able to suppress the Austrian Navy.

Under these circumstances, the Vienna Government is likely to engage in new machinations. Of course, they wouldn’t dare provoke us, but it’s a different story with the Ottoman Empire.”

Granville rubbed his forehead. He found that being the Prime Minister of the Great Britain Empire was really not an easy job. The Russians had just stirred up trouble in Central Asia, and now the Austrians were coming.

This is how international order was at the time: gain more strength, and seek to acquire more benefits. After achieving a short-term regional advantage, it would be all too normal for the Austrian Navy to expand.

“Can we contain the Vienna Government’s ambition?” Granville asked.

Thomas analyzed, “It’s difficult, unless we’re willing to pay a great price, summon more fleets into the Mediterranean or preemptively occupy their targets, leaving them no chance.”

Granville objected, “That’s impossible. We don’t have that many fleets to deploy in the Mediterranean, nor can we act against the Ottoman Empire first.

We have made promises to the Ottoman Empire to guarantee their territorial integrity. Even for the sake of international reputation, we cannot ignore this now.

Is there a possibility to divert the Austrians to another region, to make them abandon their actions against the Ottoman Empire?”

Thomas thought for a moment and said, “It’s worth trying. If we and the French exert joint pressure, the Vienna Government is likely to give up expansion in the Mediterranean. After all, they wouldn’t want to disrupt the recently established Vienna System.”