The achievements of the French Empire in ironclad ships did not seem to allow France to maintain its advantage for long.
Ironclad ships are not like nuclear bombs. If you build them a year faster than the opponent, you can maintain an offensive for a year.
Jérôme Bonaparte had reason to believe that the Kingdom of Britain could build an ironclad with better performance than the "Friendship" within one to two years.
After all, the fact that the shipbuilding industry of the British Kingdom has surpassed France by a large margin is something that all the navies, including Minister Dicko, have to admit.
Instead of maintaining the advantage for one or two years, it is better to work with the British Kingdom to develop ironclad ships and absorb the technology of the British shipbuilding industry.
France provided advanced technology such as ironclads, and Britain at least had to provide some equivalent technology.
Furthermore, France is a continental country whose center of gravity has always been on the European continent. It does not need a navy in a short time and does not have the ability to challenge the Kingdom of Britain.
…
At this time, Abdulmecid I did not know that Jerome Bonaparte had thought so much in this short period of time.
Now he is still waiting with hope for Jerome Bonaparte's reply.
"Do you also want an ironclad?" Jérôme Bonaparte, who had come back to his senses, still asked Abdulmecid I with a smile.
"Yes!" Abdulmecid I nodded, "The Ottoman Empire lost too many ships in the last naval battle, so we must replenish new ships! Only in this way can the Ottoman Empire be in the Black Sea
Maintain a balance of power with the Russian Empire!”
"Then there's no need for ironclads!" Jérôme Bonaparte shrugged and said, "Today's Russian Imperial Fleet is about to be wiped out by us!"
"The Russian Empire will continue to be built!" Abdulmecid I said quickly.
"Don't worry, after this battle! I guarantee that all the Russian Empire's shipyards in the Black Sea region will be demolished!" Jerome Bonaparte promised to Abdul Mecid I.
At this time, Abdul Meguid I seemed to have no reason to buy ironclads from France.
"But if you really want it, that's fine!" Jérôme Bonaparte changed the subject and said to Abdul Meguid I: "But you need to prepare some things!"
"What?" Abdulmecid I's eyes lit up and he hurriedly asked Jérôme Bonaparte.
"Ironclad ships are different from the previous wooden warships. Their internal structures are more complex! You should know that ships are more complex. The more complicated they are, the harder it is to repair them! You can't always take the ship to France for repairs!" Jérôme
Bonaparte seemed to be thinking about Abdulmecid I.
Abdul Meguid I nodded subconsciously.
"So my suggestion is that you build a repair shop first, and then think about the ironclads!" Jérôme Bonaparte responded to Abdulmecid I.
"How should I build it?" Abdulmecid I asked Jérôme Bonaparte.
"I will ask the Admiralty to make a list for you later, and you can just buy according to the list!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Abdul Meguid I.
"That ship..." Abdul Meguid I asked.
"How many ships are you planning to get?" Jérôme Bonaparte asked Abdulmecid I.
"3...ah no! It would be better to have 5 ships!" Abdulmecid I responded to Jérôme Bonaparte with five fingers stretched out.
"Five ships? This is a big project! Let me do the math for you. Now our shipyard can only build one ship a year at full capacity (actually two ships a year), and you ask for 5 ships all at once.
, which is equivalent to the shipyard taking five years to build your ship!”
At this time, Jérôme Bonaparte was like a calculating businessman. He was arguing with Abdul Meguid one by one: "And the cost of building an ironclad ship is about more than 2 million pounds."
I'm worried that your finances may not be able to bear it..."
When Abdul Meguid heard the figures reported by Jérôme Bonaparte, he couldn't help but gasped. He never thought that the cost of building an ironclad ship would be so expensive.
"So I still recommend that you buy an ironclad ship and pair it with a few newly developed (wooden) battleships!" Jérôme Bonaparte said to Abdul Meguid I: "With these, you
You can no longer be afraid of Russia! When the time comes, you can also send the navy to bombard Odessa!"
Abdulmecid I nodded subconsciously, but little did he know that he had now fallen into Jérôme Bonaparte's trap!
Although the era of ironclads has not yet completely arrived, Jérôme Bonaparte must seize the time to phase out all the wooden battleships on hand (considering that most countries except Britain and France are poor, so hot
Rome Bonaparte agreed to pay in installments.) Sell it out.
Once the era of ironclads arrives, the battleships in the hands of the French Empire will become mere ornamental toys.
The Ottoman Empire was naturally the best target for sale.
Not only that, Jerome Bonaparte also considered asking Alexander II if he needed ships to maintain the security of the Baltic Sea after the war. If necessary, Russia was also a good partner.
In the end, Abdelmecid I agreed with Jerome Bonaparte's opinion, and the Ottoman Empire would order 5 battleships from the French Empire, four of which were sailing battleships and one was an ironclad.
Considering that the Ottoman Empire itself was not financially wealthy, Jerome Bonaparte lent a loan to Abdulmecid I with an annual interest rate of 5.2%.
As for why it is 5.2%, this is of course the bad taste of Jerome Bonaparte himself.
Compared with Britain's loans to the Ottoman Empire, this interest rate was simply the price of conscience.
Of course, no matter how good your conscience is, it is still a loan that needs to be repaid.
It was the citizens of the entire Ottoman Empire who paid for Abdulmecid I's fleet ambitions.
Subsequently, Jérôme Bonaparte and Abdulmecid I began to discuss the Balkans.
Abdulmecid I implicitly expressed his dissatisfaction with the Kingdom of Greece to Jerome Bonaparte. He told Jerome Bonaparte that the Principality of Montenegro and Serbia were still in a deadlock.
stage, and these stragglers were supported by the state, and when they suppressed these guerrillas, they captured more than once the regular army troops of the Kingdom of Greece who had changed their skins.
"You mean the Kingdom of Greece is supporting them behind the scenes?" Jerome Bonaparte gently rubbed his sleeves and said to Abdul Mecid I in a casual tone.
"Probably so!" Abdul Meguid I did not dare to speak too harshly.
Now the Kingdom of Greece has fallen into the lap of the French Empire, and Abdulmecid I is not sure whether France will favor the Kingdom of Greece.
If France was not behind the Kingdom of Greece, Abdulmecid I would have already ordered his troops to crush the "volunteers" of the Kingdom of Greece, and then sent troops to investigate.
"I will send someone to ask the Kingdom of Greece about this issue!" Jerome Bonaparte thought for a while and responded to Abdulmecid I.
If he remembered correctly, the current king of the Kingdom of Greece is Otto I of the Wittelsbach dynasty.
This man is also a man of great ambition and talent. As a king, he does not want to unite his subjects, but instead goes against them everywhere.
Facing the Orthodox Church, which accounts for the vast majority of Greece, Otto was not even willing to pretend to convert.
It was such a man that the Greek subjects were able to allow him to continue his rule until 1862.
If it were France, Otto's set of operations would be enough to reward him with escaping the next year.
In the whole of Europe, no nation is more difficult to govern than the Parisians.
Their spirit of resistance not only impressed Jérôme Bonaparte, but also made him gnash his teeth.
Facing this group of guys who live up to the value of united front, all Jérôme Bonaparte can do is to carry out reforms and redistribution when the entire society is about to become dissatisfied!
Even if this road is a hundred times more difficult than simply being an emperor, he must grit his teeth and persevere!
Who let him expose the Paris people!
Then again, it is also impossible for Jerome Bonaparte to directly blockade the Kingdom of Greece, which would only make them fall to the Kingdom of Britain.
Moreover, Jérôme Bonaparte himself also needed to show his favor to the Wittelsbach family.
The Kingdom of Prussia is France's greatest worry, while Bavaria is France's most suitable troublemaker in Germany.
For a long time, the Kingdom of Bavaria has been playing the role of a qualified troublemaker for Germany.
Only when the waters of Germany were completely muddy could Jérôme Bonaparte be able to catch fish in the muddy waters.
Of course, these are things for the future.
Jerome Bonaparte planned to send people to give a serious warning first.
If the Kingdom of Greece was really stubborn, Jérôme Bonaparte acquiesced that those Greeks who appeared in the Balkans were the ones who needed to be hanged.
Then let the Kingdom of Britain act as the villain and completely block the coastline of the Kingdom of Greece, forcing them to surrender.
For Jerome Bonaparte, Otto's desire to expand at this time was somewhat out of his mind. He really thought that everyone was the Austrian Empire.
[ps: In fact, Otto I had a weird idea after seeing that the Austrian Empire’s occupation of the Danube Principality was endorsed by France. They also wanted to get on the bus first and pay for the tickets later. 】
After the conversation between Jérôme Bonaparte and Abdul Mecid I ended, the banquet began as night fell.