Chapter 592 Inspection of Bagamoyo
Constantine is still on his way back, so Ernst plans to go to Bagamoyo city to take a look during this interval.
"Karina, I will go to the Bagamoyo Shipyard today first, and I should be able to come back tomorrow. Please ask your mother-in-law to stay with you at home today. If you need anything, please tell the servant. If you feel uncomfortable, Just call the doctor..."
Ernst said a lot carefully, now Karina is pregnant with the second child, otherwise he really wants to take Karina to Bagamo with him We wanted to go shopping and relax, but we had to go by water to get to Bagamo, so Ernst was not at ease.
"Okay, you don't have to worry about me, I'm not a child, and there is no shortage of anything in the palace, and there are so many servants at my disposal, but when can we go see grandma? She calls often, and little Friedrich has never met his grandmother, but his grandmother likes him very much," Karina asked.
Karina was brought up by Queen Mother Sophie since she was a child, and she has a deep relationship with her. However, since she came to East Africa, she has not been able to see her grandmother. She only has a phone call to contact her, which reduces her missing.
"My father-in-law occasionally goes to Austria to visit my grandmother. Now my grandmother is still in good health. Your brother Rudolf Jr. and your uncle are also doing well, so don't worry too much. I will accompany you back to visit next year. "Them," Ernst promised.
In fact, there are a lot of troubles in the Austrian royal family, but many of them are related to Franz. Little Rudolf often contacted Ernst, and he was enlightened by someone. In this era, no one cares about psychological problems, so he had to The Ernsts worry about Rudolf's mental health.
As for Franz, although his love life is not going well, his mentality is definitely good enough. Otherwise, he would not have lived so long if he was so miserable in his previous life.
In this life, his younger brother Archduke Ferdinand did not let the Mexicans die with one shot. Ferdinand often went back to quarrel, which was much better than his previous life.
More contact with the Austrian royal family will also help the development of relations between the two countries. The relationship between the two countries is already very good. After all, East Africa and Europe are separated by the ocean, so travel is not very convenient. When Ernst was in Europe, he often went to the Austrian royal palace. visit.
Thinking about this, Ernst felt that he could not favor one over the other. There were many nobles and royal families in Europe who had good relations with the Hechingen royal family, and it was just a good opportunity to meet and connect with them.
So Ernst took advantage of the situation and said: "At that time, I will just go back to Europe to visit other countries that have good relations with East Africa. If you have any sisters you want to meet, you can tell them in advance, so don't be in a hurry. "
Karina: "I actually don't have many friends, and most of them are in Vienna. It's just a matter of getting together when the time comes, and by the way, I'll get to know little Friedrich. "
Karina grew up in the Austrian palace since she was a child, so most of the partners she met were also the children of some of the great Austrian nobles. After all, ordinary people did not have the strength to enter the Austro-Hungarian Empire palace.
"Of course it's no problem, but considering your delivery date, we won't be able to go to Europe until the second half of next year. There will be a state visit then, so it will definitely be tiring. After all, there are more social activities." Ernst reminded.
"These are nothing. I was used to it before coming to East Africa. On the contrary, there are not many nobles in East Africa and there are not so many rules. It is very different from Europe." Karina said.
The couple chatted for a while, and Ernst was ready to set off.
Because we travel by water, we have to wait for the boat at the pier in the north of the First Town. The pier is not far from the urban area. The north bank of the Little Rhine River is the Third Town, which has now been merged with the First Town. , so both sides of the Little Rhine are relatively prosperous.
Ernst was traveling on a gunboat of the Guards Division, so it was very fast. It only took two or three hours to reach the city of Bagamoyo. Although it only takes less than an hour to reach First Town via the Central Railway, the waterway has obvious freight advantages over railways, so the economic connection between First Town and Bagamoyo City is actually closer.
At noon, Ernst arrived in Bagamoyo. Although Bagamoyo is not as good as Dar es Salaam and Mombasa today, due to the development of the shipbuilding industry, Bagamoyo has become the most popular city in East Africa. The shipbuilding industry plays an important role.
Of course, the most important thing is that the main naval base is here. Ernst first came to the navy to visit Ferdinand, but was told that Archduke Ferdinand was now at the Ferdinand Naval Academy on Pemba Island, so We had no choice but to visit the base construction accompanied by other naval personnel.
“Bagamoyo City is the gateway to the first town and the outlet of the Little Rhine River. It is not an exaggeration to describe our local construction as impregnable. Both the Navy and the Guards Division have It is heavily guarded and it is impossible for any invading enemy to attack nearby waters."
"Well, I know this well. How is the new ship of the navy this year?" Enns. Te asked.
"This year the Bagamoyo Shipyard completed the construction plan for three gunboats. As for the latest 3,000-ton displacement armored cruiser, I am afraid it will take time. We estimate that it can be completed and launched into service early next year."
Ba The shipbuilding technology of Gamoyo Shipyard is improving day by day, and it is now sprinting towards the 3,000-ton displacement level. Higher values should be achievable, but a more secure solution has been chosen.
“The Bagamoyo Shipyard still needs to accumulate experience. This is something we in East Africa are relatively lacking. At the same time, it is also unsatisfactory in the fields of technology and R&D. There is also a lack of relevant talents locally, but it will take ten or twenty years. It should be fine, you don’t have to be too impatient,” Ernst said.
“Independence has always been the goal of the East African Navy. We now need to learn from the navies of other powerful countries and try to follow the footsteps of other countries to avoid falling behind. However, this is not difficult for us. We have already It has achieved independent production of some weapons and equipment, and the imitation work is also going smoothly.”
If the East African Navy wants to be independent, it cannot avoid copycats. As for independent research and development and design, this has a negative impact on talents. The requirements have been greatly increased, and at the same time it is related to the layout of related industries. Without strong industry, it is impossible to have a strong independent navy. Relying on buying can solve the problem in a short period of time, and the ambitions of the East African Navy will naturally not stop here. .
After seeing the navy, Ernst began touring Bagamoyo's civilian shipyards.
As the central city of the shipbuilding industry in East Africa, Bagamo now has a total of thirteen shipbuilding companies, most of which are state-owned companies, and only two private companies belong to the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company.
So the shipbuilding industry in Bagamoyo is first-rate in East Africa. As for the shipbuilding industries in Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, they are not bad either, but they have too many functions to be responsible for. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to the shipbuilding industry.
On the contrary, Bagamoyo City does not have much economic development burden, so it can free up space to develop the shipbuilding industry. However, the East African shipbuilding industry cannot be supported by private forces, so it is either the government or the government that contributes. Hechingen Consortium.
This undoubtedly limits the activity of the East African shipbuilding industry, but the benefits are also very obvious. The government and the Hechingen Consortium can make full use of the huge resource advantages in their hands and focus on supporting the initial development of the East African shipbuilding industry.
(End of this chapter)