African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1563 Imperial Common Assets
On March 14, two East African Navy frigates quietly sailed north along the Red Sea, passed through the Suez Canal, and finally arrived in Dubrovnik.

As a vital maritime choke point controlled by the British, the Suez Canal was also an important intelligence gathering site for the UK. This allowed the UK to monitor key data in the Indian Ocean or Asia at any time, such as the scale of trade between Europe and East Africa, transported goods, and military movements.

However, although Britain was aware that two East African frigates had entered the Mediterranean, it did not pay too much attention, thanks to the frequent cooperation between the East African Navy and the Austro-Hungarian Navy over the years.

Although East Africa did not have a base in the Mediterranean in the past, this did not prevent the East African Navy from frequently operating in the Mediterranean under the guise of escort and cooperation.

Therefore, it is not difficult to spot East African warships in the Mediterranean, especially in the Adriatic Sea.

The deployment of the East African Navy to Dubrovnik has not yet attracted much attention from other forces within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Dalmatia is the region within the Austro-Hungarian Empire most aligned with East Africa, so it is unlikely to trigger conflict.

Dubrovnik Port.

"The bay in Dubrovnik has two forks, and the western harbor is our destination, which is heading northwest," said Captain Yars of the East African Navy, who was visiting Dubrovnik for the first time, standing on the deck of the frigate Lubango and observing the Bay of La Paz through binoculars.

Rapad Bay is the name of the bay where Dubrovnik Port is located. However, Dubrovnik Port refers more to the western port of Dubrovnik. There is also a small to medium-sized port on the east side of Rapad Bay, but it is not suitable for large warships to dock. There is also a port built during the Republic of Ragusa period to the south, but it has no natural barriers.

"It must be said that the conditions in Dubrovnik are far better than we imagined, especially in terms of defense. Dubrovnik is in a very advantageous position. It is backed by high ground, and the bay entrance is not easy for the enemy to attack. The terrain is quite dangerous. The Rovirijenak Fortress to the south is built on a cliff more than 30 meters high, and it is known as the Gibraltar of Dubrovnik."

"It's hard to imagine that such terrain and port conditions were not valued in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and were only used as an auxiliary port," Colonel Yars analyzed. "If it were in East Africa, Dubrovnik would definitely have been developed into the most fortified sea fortress in the Adriatic."

The East African Navy has indeed gained considerable experience in port renovation, and the reason for this is the scarcity of high-quality port resources in East Africa. Therefore, all ports in East Africa have undergone large-scale artificial renovation.

Beside Colonel Yars was Strollin, the political officer of the frigate Lubango. The political officer was a special military position in the East African National Defence Force, similar to the political commissar in the Soviet army, who was in charge of the army's ideology and some daily duties.

Strolin said, "The Republic of Ragusa was once a relatively powerful maritime nation in the Adriatic, capable of rivaling the Republic of Venice at the time. Dubrovnik, as its capital, was naturally very strong in defense; otherwise, it would have been completely conquered by the Venetians long ago."

As a city-state, the Republic of Ragusa, with Dubrovnik at its core, lacks strategic depth and faces direct threats from other powers in the Adriatic. Its ability to grow and expand naturally stems from its advantageous terrain.

Colonel Yars said, "Therefore, we should make better use of the terrain here. I have a few ideas. The first is to carry out some renovations on the western port of Dubrovnik. Since the Republic of Ragusa was destroyed by Austria, the infrastructure here has not been effectively upgraded."

"Therefore, even the best-equipped West Port is somewhat unsuitable for modern warships to dock. Then there is South Port, which should also be utilized, especially the Rovellijenak Fortress, which should be heavily fortified. Anti-aircraft firepower should be built on the high ground to its east."

"On the west side, including the small island at the entrance to Rapad Bay, construct an enemy reconnaissance station..."

Clearly, East Africa wants to build a military base in Dubrovnik, which is a rather large and complex process.

Strolling said, "These supporting facilities and renovations will cost a lot of money, and it won't be easy to get local approval."

Colonel Yars said, "This is a long-term plan, after all, it's not comprehensive enough. If Dubrovnik is in our hands, it won't be of much use."

"Moreover, as the Empire's first military base in the Mediterranean, I think the Empire must have attached great importance to Dubrovnik."

"Finally, we will help renovate the port of Dubrovnik. The Kingdom of Dalmatia should also contribute, since Dalmatia also needs to improve its coastal defenses. Dubrovnik will most likely become a shared military port for us and Austria in the future."

Although Dubrovnik was the first military port that East Africa acquired in the Mediterranean, Colonel Yars did not make any definitive statements.

After all, there were many places in the Austro-Hungarian Empire with better conditions than Dubrovnik. Even within Dalmatia, there was Zadar, one of the core bases of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

Zadar Port has well-established facilities that can be used directly, while Dubrovnik has been in disrepair for years. At this stage, there is no way to expect Dubrovnik Port to play a significant military role. The two frigates currently docked here in East Africa are already the limit for Dubrovnik, and deploying more warships would be completely meaningless.

However, Colonel Yars also mentioned that Dubrovnik Port will obviously not be exclusive to East Africa in the future, as it plays a very important role for both the Kingdom of Dalmatia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

As a subordinate kingdom of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Dalmatia's topography dictated that it was impossible for it not to prioritize the development of its naval power. As for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, its past neglect of Dubrovnik's navy ultimately stemmed from financial constraints.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire always prioritized the development of its army, with very limited funding for its navy. Otherwise, the Austro-Hungarian navy would not have failed to develop Dubrovnik, the southernmost forward position of the empire.

On a larger scale, if the Austro-Hungarian Empire had invested more in its navy, it would probably have completely controlled the entire Adriatic coast by the last century, turning it into its inland sea, and would have been able to control the Strait of Otranto and launch attacks into the Mediterranean at any time.

However, the reality is that the Austro-Hungarian Navy's position as the dominant power in the Adriatic Sea is not very secure, while the Italian Navy has developed rapidly in recent years and shows signs of a revival.

Meanwhile, the Austro-Hungarian navy lagged far behind in speed, especially against the backdrop of constant domestic turmoil, which forced the Habsburgs to place greater emphasis on the development of their army in order to suppress rebellions in various regions.

Whenever the Austro-Hungarian Navy wanted to break free from developmental constraints, it was always held back for various reasons.

In contrast, the situation of the East African Navy is much better. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the development of the East African Navy has been at the forefront of the world.

In the 19th century, due to East Africa's colonial expansion on the African continent, the army was given higher priority than the navy. Therefore, the East African army was more valued than the navy in the 19th century.

After the 20th century, East Africa completed its expansion on the African continent. Together with its land neighbors and regions, East Africa was basically a bunch of "nothings" with no threat or potential. Therefore, there was virtually no defense pressure on the land level.

In other words, Ernst consistently advocated maintaining the size and combat effectiveness of the army; otherwise, the East African army might have ended up like the British and American armies, completely relegated to a "third-rate" level. After World War I, East Africa's overseas expansion further spurred increased funding for naval construction. In fact, East Africa has now become a maritime power, where the navy can play a greater role and is currently playing a leading role in East Africa's global strategy.

As for why Ernst has maintained the size of the army and its combat effectiveness, it is not due to the current needs of East African defense and military strategy, but rather for future planning.

In the past, even a powerful country like the United States had to go through two world wars and send its military to Europe on a large scale to participate in the war if it wanted to achieve world hegemony.

The East African Army was, in fact, Ernst's preparation for a world war. East Africa was fortunate to avoid participating in World War I and successfully mediated between the two camps, allowing them to temporarily shake hands and make peace. However, it was clear to everyone that this peace was unsustainable, especially for Germany, which was most unwilling to accept it.

Maintaining the development of the army now does take up military spending, but when they are truly put to use, we can minimize the losses in East Africa. This is what is often referred to as "raising an army for a thousand days to use it for one day".

Ernst believed this was necessary, at least. In World War II, the casualties of the major participating countries were often in the tens of millions. The Soviet Union, the Far Eastern Empire, and Germany all suffered more than ten million military and civilian casualties, while other major participating countries also suffered millions.

Even the United States, with its numerous allies and overwhelming superiority in weaponry, ultimately suffered a million military casualties, and this was against an Axis power that was already weakened.

Ernst certainly didn't want East Africa to pay such a price in the future, and to achieve this, he could only make ample preparations, especially in the training of the army, putting in more effort. After all, as the saying goes, the more you sweat in peacetime, the less you bleed in wartime.

Of course, as an industrial powerhouse, East Africa will not resort to human wave tactics. Instead, it will focus on weapons and equipment research and development, as well as continuous innovation in military tactics.

To be honest, the combat effectiveness of the East African Army remains a mystery. Its size, weaponry, and training intensity are all world-class, and in some aspects even surpass Germany's. However, without the test of war, it is full of uncertainties.

Of course, there is no doubt that the East African Army's status is declining compared to the Navy and even the Air Force. However, the East African Army's opponents are not other branches of its own military, but rather the armies of other countries around the world.

……

1934 October.

Vienna, Austria-Hungary.

Emperor Rudolf, who had just reached the Dubrovnik Port Lease Agreement with East Africa, still had many resources he planned to sell.

After all, with the first step completed, the Habsburg family's psychological burden was no longer present in subsequent transactions. Ultimately, it was the continued decay and deterioration of the empire that was eroding the Habsburg family's confidence.

At Schönbrunn Palace, Crown Prince Karl reported to Emperor Rudolf on the asset transfer: "Father, the family business is now being sold off at an accelerated pace. At the same time, our second batch of assets has been transferred to East Africa. It will take at least another six months to completely transfer the royal assets according to plan."

Emperor Rudolf said dejectedly, "It's still too slow. I'm afraid we won't last six months. Bohemia is completely out of control now, and large-scale uprisings have broken out in Bosnia and Eastern Lombardy. Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, and Galicia are also stirring."

Now, the Habsburgs have essentially lost all prestige in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and even Austria and Hungary are in trouble. Emperor Rudolf has a premonition that the collapse of the empire is not far off.

As for the supporters of the Habsburgs, to be honest, apart from the nobles, they were just some ordinary people who didn't want to cause trouble. However, they didn't care whether they were ruled by the Habsburg family, which also meant that they could accept the rule of the new government and didn't care about the change of regime.

As for getting them to contribute to protecting the interests of the Habsburgs, that's practically impossible; they'd be lucky if they didn't join in and kick them while they were down.

This means that the Habsburg family's only available force was the nobility. However, as is well known, the Austro-Hungarian nobility was already corrupt and insignificant compared to the empire, making them unsuitable for any major task.

Emperor Rudolf said pessimistically, "The land of Austria-Hungary no longer has the soil for the development of a monarchy, and the change in ideology is completely irreversible."

"And an empire without a monarchy is only a matter of time before it disintegrates, and then the empire will naturally cease to exist."

When the Austro-Hungarian monarchy ended, so too did the empire's lifespan come to an end, since the same monarch was the only cultural and ideological bond among the people of the empire.

Emperor Rudolf was deeply saddened by the impending disintegration of the empire. If possible, he would not have wanted to see the empire split apart, even if the Habsburgs withdrew, because the end of Habsburg rule was already a foregone conclusion.

However, even if he were to abdicate now and the Habsburgs were to relinquish power in the empire, the fate of the empire's disintegration would not change.

Emperor Rudolf composed himself and said, "It's too late to say anything now, but even if the empire collapses, we cannot let those traitors get away with it, especially not let them feast on the corpse of the empire."

"After all, when the empire disintegrates, they will not be good heirs. Rather than letting those selfish and extreme nationalists profit from it, it is better to sell off the empire's common heritage."

What is the common legacy of an empire? It is the achievements developed over the years by the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a whole. A typical example is the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Imagine, in the future, if the Austro-Hungarian Empire were to split up, who would be the successor to the navy?

No, only a unified and powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire could support such a large and important navy. However, it is clear that Venice, Croatia, and Dalmatia could not unite to support this fleet, and the inland regions could not possibly invest a single penny in it.

Therefore, rather than watching the Imperial Navy naturally wither away in the future, it is better to entrust it to someone worthy.

Now, just like the Soviet Union at its end, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will perish along with all the glory of the Soviet Union as it disintegrates.

(End of this chapter)