The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1520 Suez Waterway Project

Although the Austrian Empire managed to pull back the game, the British did not give up so easily. They immediately changed their strategy after losing control of the Suez Canal Company.

Led by the Royal Society of London, the British proposed a new plan.

Franz preferred to call it the "Suez Canal Project."

What is the Suez Canal waterway plan? This is a castrated plan devised by the British, with a depth of only 5 meters and a water surface width of 25 meters. According to the British, it can theoretically accommodate the largest ships in the world at that time.

However, in reality, the Suez Canal was originally 8 meters deep and 60 meters wide, with a maximum safe navigation limit of only 5000 tons.

The old-style sailing battleships had no problem passing through, but the Austrian Empire's ironclad ships could not pass through this small ditch.

According to the British plan, the maximum safe navigation limit is probably only 1200 tons. Not to mention battleships, even large steam frigates would find it difficult to pass through.

Why is there such a big difference between the theoretical navigation limit and the safe navigation limit? It is naturally the result of countless blood and tears.

But the British do not recognize it, they only recognize formulas.

Ship displacement calculation formula: Displacement (tons) = length × width × draft × square coefficient × seawater density
This was proposed by the great British engineer William Froude, whose position in the world's shipbuilding industry is unshakable.

Even when Franz personally participated in the debate, he was rejected and was even accused of being unlearned and having a wild idea.

However, most Austrians did not feel anything about this. After all, this negative trait of the emperor was nothing in the history of the Austrian Empire.

In fact, William Froude also knew that his formula only provided theoretical values, but the British government asked him to come forward, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and take the platform.

The Austrian imperial government would not ignore the incident and also brought in a large number of scientists to verify Franz's theory.

As a result, this debate quickly turned into a war between the Royal Academy of Sciences of London and the Royal Vienna Society. Both sides insisted on their own opinions and refused to give in. They both produced a large amount of facts and data to support their claims. There was a tendency of a struggle between practitioners and theorists.

However, the British always like to use unconventional tactics. The President of the Privy Council, the Marquis of Lansdowne, walked to the office of Prime Minister John Russell with a portrait.

At this time, Britain did not have a minister of education, and the president of the Privy Council, the Marquis of Lansdown, was in charge of education and propaganda. To be honest, John Russell really had no mood to care about education funding at this time, as the British ship was leaking everywhere.

If things continue like this, he doubts the future of Britain. Just as people who are tired of living in the present will not consider the future, John Russell is now only thinking about how to get Britain out of the quagmire and revitalize the British economy.

However, the Marquis of Lansdown believed that education was a means to maintain social order and improve the technical level of the workforce.

In contrast, Britain had too many important things to do, so he had never asked for additional education funding, and naturally would not bother John Russell with such things at this time.

"Mr. Prime Minister, what do you think of this painting?"

John Russell looked and saw that it was a portrait of Ferdinand I, the former Emperor of the Austrian Empire. At first he was a little confused.

"Is it some kind of retro art style? Even though I don't understand it, I can't show my weakness."

But John Russell soon understood the intention of the Marquis of Lansdowne.

"Prime Minister, perhaps we can publish this portrait in the newspaper so that the public can see what our opponent really looks like."

John Russell immediately understood what he meant.

"Oh! Marquis, you are truly a genius. Look at your appearance! How can I describe it? You are the essence of the Habsburg family.

Look at the typical Habsburg chin, it's like an upside-down spoon.

Look at these two slightly confused glass beads. Only a madman would support such a person! "

The Marquis of Lansdown also laughed.

"Prime Minister, it's great to be able to share your worries!"

"Thank you for your support, Marquis. We will definitely humiliate the Austrians this time. I can imagine how the people will look when they get the newspaper. The Austrian emperor will look so impressive!"

So a week later, major British newspapers published this portrait almost at the same time and added Franz's name. However, some newspapers, such as the Times, published the wrong picture. They published Franz's own portrait in the newspaper.

In the pub, several drunks were holding newspapers and laughing loudly.

"Look at that chin! I could plow the field with it! Do all Austrians look like this?"

"Damn it! Look at that stupid look! He really makes me laugh."

Another rough man stuck a piece of bread to his chin, bent over, and spoke with a stick as a crutch.

"Listen to me now, I'm the emperor, I'm smart! I get mad every day, even when I'm in bed with a woman."

The vulgar man started to twitch his body and make obscene movements. The waitress beside him cursed him as a "smelly rascal" while peeking through her fingers.

"What a joke! How dare a monkey challenge a human!"

"Look at the way the Austrians look, they're not even as good as the Irish!"

"Right! So it seems the Irish look is much more comfortable!"

"If red-haired Irish people are descendants of witches, then the Austrians look like the devil!"

"No! Even the devil would be afraid of them! Haha!"

The tavern was filled with a joyful atmosphere, but a few people felt very strange. They looked at the newspapers in their hands and could not connect the characters in the newspapers with any monsters.

Franz in the photo is tall and handsome, without any trace of vulgarity.

"What are you talking about? Are you all blind? This is the emperor who has appeared on the cover of Playboy. Is there something wrong with your aesthetic sense?"

"Nonsense! There are still people defending this ugly guy! Do you really think this ugly guy is right? Can he be smarter than the gentlemen in the Royal Academy of Sciences?"

"What's right and what's wrong? I say you are blind!"

In fact, the British public did not pay much attention to this debate. It was only because of the London government's propaganda that it attracted some attention among the London public.

However, Playboy magazine had a great influence in the UK at that time. After all, food, sex and nature are the most primitive needs of human beings and can still arouse the interest of many people.

At that time, the cover of Playboy magazine every month featured handsome men and beautiful women, and they were all people of very high status, or celebrities who were willing to spend a lot of money.

The two sides started arguing about something irrelevant and even a fight broke out.

At this time, someone dug out an old issue of Playboy magazine.

"Hey! Stop fighting! We'll know who's right by comparing them!"

The result of the comparison was obvious. The portrait published by the Times was the correct one, and those published by other newspapers were all fake. At this time, some people calmed down. The emperor of the Austrian Empire was just 20 years old, while the man in the portrait was at least or years old.

"Damn it! We were tricked!"

"Why does our government always like to do such despicable things?"

"How do you know it was the London government that did it?"

“Don’t they do this often enough?”

On the streets, people hired by the British government are still busy setting the pace.

"Hey! Look! The Habsburgs' blood purity is inversely proportional to their brain size. I doubt they think the world is square!

I want to eat dumplings!"

Originally there was a group of people watching with great interest, but soon the mood of the people changed.

"Damn liar!"

"Insulting others doesn't make you look great!"

"Don't try to fool us again!"

John Russell knew very well that the truth was often not important to the people, and preconceived ideas were enough to determine the direction of public opinion.

Franz wanted to say that preconceived ideas are scary, but what is even scarier is a quick reversal.

As the saying goes, there is no coincidence in the world, only ups and downs can deeply touch people's hearts.

The British government originally wanted to gain a decisive advantage at home by vilifying Franz and belittling the Austrian Empire, but unfortunately the Austrian Empire had many friends in London, and Franz attached great importance to the construction of intelligence organizations in London.

The pub Fate stay night has been open in London for many years. They activated the emergency plan as soon as they received the news.

The news reached Vienna in just one day. Franz would naturally not allow the London government to smear him, so he immediately ordered countermeasures.

When the news reached London again, the Austrian imperial intelligence personnel were already prepared and everything was going according to plan. Only the British government was still dreaming.

This method is only useful for the lower class people. After all, Playboy magazine is widely circulated in the British upper class, and most people in the upper class are not interested in this kind of low-level smear, and even some aristocrats would feel disgusted.

The only ones who could accept it might be some businessmen who had conflicts or competition with the Austrian Empire, and they were hoping that the Austrian Empire would be destroyed as soon as possible.

As a result, the British government's operation actually established Franz's image. In the upper class society, Franz has always been the best lover in the minds of those ladies and young ladies, but this time it has become completely universal.

The Marquis of Lansdown's dream of going further was naturally shattered, and John Russell was considering shutting down The Times and The Sun completely.

These two newspapers are such deceptive people, they are simply two traitors.

However, the MPs did not agree. After all, the income of The Times and The Sun was real and they could act as their black gloves.

Although John Russell was not a weak prime minister like Edward Smith-Stanley, he was not strong enough to ignore the opinions of MPs.

If John Russell really had this ability, he would not have stepped down in disgrace before.

This episode ended with the British shooting themselves in the foot.

Back to the British plan itself, the canal is 5 meters deep, 25 meters wide on the water surface, and has a maximum safe navigable capacity of 1200 tons.

First, the strategic value of large warships would be very limited due to the inability to pass through.

Secondly, large cargo ships cannot pass through, and even two-way traffic is not allowed, so the commercial value of such a canal is very limited.

Just a few random "accidents" would be enough to cause the entire canal system to collapse, and during wartime it could also be blocked by a few broken ships.

Franz could also list countless disadvantages of this plan. If it were really implemented, then whether this waterway was built or not would have little significance to European countries.

The navigation capacity is so poor that even the needs of Austria alone are difficult to meet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for our common interests, we should open the Suez Canal to navigation first. This will help us recover some funds first, and then slowly expand it."

said William Froude, the British representative.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the British were up to something. There were many professional engineers in the delegations of various countries, and they all knew that once seawater entered the canal, the difficulty of expanding it would increase exponentially.

However, capital is always profit-seeking, and most of the time it is short-sighted and only looks at immediate benefits.

The largest number of small shareholders were immediately attracted by the plan proposed by William Froude. Unlike the country and the big financial groups, they could not withstand the pressure. They did not have much money in their hands and were naturally eager to get their money back. The British also took advantage of their mentality.

"I propose that the future of the Suez Canal Company be decided by a democratic vote."

You heard it right, the UK is going to play democracy again. Those small shareholders also know that they are no match for the big shareholders, and now that the British are taking the lead, they will naturally unite to protect their own interests.

There is nothing wrong with what these people do, but unfortunately the major issues of this era cannot be resolved through speeches and majority resolutions.

“It is not the majority of shareholders who should decide the future of Suez, but those who hold the majority of shares. Otherwise, why do we buy stocks?
Or we can give one copy to every citizen, but I am afraid that by then only a few people here will be included.”

The Austrian imperial representative Richard Metternich stood up and said that he should have stayed in Paris as the French ambassador. However, Franz made a secret deal with Napoleon III, so Richard Metternich followed him to the headquarters of the Suez Canal Company.

"Your Austrian Empire is too domineering!"

"Then you should pay more."

You are kidding. How many private investors would continue to invest in an investment project where you can’t even make a profit in two years, let alone a return on investment?

"If you don't have money, shut up!"

As a descendant of Clemens Wenzel von Metternich, Richard Metternich also inherited his diplomatic talent. Moreover, Richard Metternich was much luckier than his father. At this time, the Austrian Empire was no longer the impoverished and weak empire, and could serve as his most solid backing.

"What a bunch of short-sighted guys! What can a small ditch of 5 meters deep and 25 meters wide do? A 1200-ton cargo ship can be sold to a shipping company, but there are so many countries in the Mediterranean region. Wouldn't all the ships be crushed to death if they were to sail in this small ditch?"

"Mr. Metternich, theoretically this canal can accommodate ships of 10,000 tons."

Richard Metternich snorted and said disdainfully.

"You know that's just in theory. You used sheep intestines when you went to bed with your boss's wife, so why didn't you use a steel pipe?

Is it that you can't afford it? Or that you're not tough enough? "

Wilhelm Froude blushed immediately, but he could not lose his temper. On the one hand, Richard Metternich was an official of the Austrian Empire, and on the other hand, what he said was true.