NOVPUBThe zeal for pilgrimage was unstoppable. After a day’s stay in Venice, everyone was fully rejuvenated, and the new journey began the next day.
Due to seasickness, Franz was not fond of traveling around, and consequently, the Austrian Royal Family did not have a dedicated cruise liner. For this excursion, they directly borrowed a luxury passenger ship from the Royal Shipping Company.
Despite it being a luxury passenger ship, it still seemed somewhat shabby for this large family.
There was no help for it, as time was too short. The coronation date was set well in advance; they had just three or four months in total. Even if the shipyard could complete the task, Franz dared not travel on a ship finished in haste.
All core members of the Habsburg dynasty were on board; a single accident could mean total disaster, which was a risk that simply could not be taken.
Initially, Franz had planned to travel by warship, which would be safe, convenient, and imposing. Unfortunately, plans do not always keep up with changes, and with the old, the frail, and children insisting on coming along, comfort had to be taken into consideration.
What appeared to be a routine trip actually involved the entire Austrian Mediterranean Fleet deploying en masse. Hundreds of military ships of various sizes were scattered along the route on patrol, with a dozen major vessels escorting them.
Such a grand display of power was, in fact, a flaunting of military strength.
Along the course of the Eastern Mediterranean, all the ports belonged to Austria, and Franz and his company traveled by ship during the day and rested on land at night, needing to spend only one evening at sea. There truly was no so-called safety concern.
At the start of the year, the Austrian Navy had already eradicated pirates in the Eastern Mediterranean. Even if some had slipped through the net, no one would be foolhardy enough to emerge and court death at such a time.
It was another calm and uneventful day, and a bored Franz stood on the gangplank, gazing into the distance.
"Watching the sea again, Franz? Since when did you grow fond of the ocean?" voiced Queen Helen. 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
Franz shook his head and handed over the telescope: "Take a look for yourself, those young ones are the real lovers of the sea."
Following the direction of Franz’s finger, Queen Helen looked out and after a while responded, "Youth is indeed wonderful!"
Her tone carried a trace of wistfulness, seemingly longing for that bygone youth.
Franz nodded in agreement; time had flown so swiftly that he had served as Emperor for over twenty years.
Youth and passionate years, it was unfortunate that these were not suited for an Emperor’s life. In his younger days, he had to appear sufficiently mature and steady to be convincing.
Years had passed, his power and position had become secure, and there was no need for pretense, but alas, the youth that passed could never be retrieved.
After a moment of melancholy reminiscence, Franz asked in a consultative tone, "What do you think about Frederick joining the Navy for service?"
Military service is an essential phase in the life of Royal family members. As the Crown Prince, Frederick was no exception; the only difference was whether to join the Continental Army or the Navy.
During the Near East war period, Franz had been prepared to send Frederick off for military embellishment, but the new military service laws stipulated that one must be 20 years old, and he was just short of the age requirement.
As the lawmaker, Franz was acutely aware of the consequences of breaking the norm. What seems like an insignificant change could in fact be the beginning of a system’s collapse.
Moreover, as the Crown Prince, military achievements could only serve as an adornment; their actual significance was limited. Franz had no intention of cultivating a Napoleon-like successor; Austria needed only a ruler to maintain the status quo.
Queen Helen replied firmly, "Very bad! Austria is fundamentally a land-centric power, and although the Navy has expanded rapidly in recent years, the essence has not changed.
Friedrich is the Crown Prince, and if he were to serve in the Navy, it would send a wrong political signal to the outside world, which might trigger a new round of conflict between the land and naval forces."
After so many years as the Empress, Queen Helen was no longer a political novice, and she still had the basic ability to judge.
Geography had already determined that the land-based strategy of Austria could not fundamentally change. There was no room for negotiation on this matter; having Russia, France, and Prussia as neighbors on the European Continent meant that Austria was destined to maintain a large Continental Army.
The outside world might not have known, but the upper echelons were very clear that Franz attached great importance to the development of the army. The total military strength had not expanded by much, but the number of reservists was increasing day by day.
The General Staff’s reservist plan was also growing ever larger. Nowadays, if a major war were to break out, the Vienna Government could mobilize three million reservists within a month, and elevate that number to five million within three months.
If Franz hadn’t always been so steady, many people would probably have suspected that the Emperor wanted to sweep across the European Continent with such a crazed system of reservists.
After a while, everyone became more reassured as His Majesty the Emperor preferred using diplomatic means, and challenging the world was out of the question.
The "Austrian enthusiasts" in the international community all believed that Franz’s emphasis on having so many reservists was mainly to demonstrate fairness.
In everyone’s subconscious mind, there was simply no need for so many people to fight a war, no matter what kind of war it was, and no need for so many troops.
From the Royal family down to the common people, all had to serve conscription without any exceptions, which in itself was a manifestation of fairness.
Franz nodded helplessly, "This is indeed a problem, but it’s not unsolvable.
Forget it, let Friedrich make this choice himself; I can take care of the aftermath for him."
Even though he was confident in his ability to suppress the military, Franz still felt a bit of a headache. The struggle between the land and naval forces was an almost universal problem faced by every major country and yet one that was unsolvable.
If the land and naval forces were to get along harmoniously and not even bother to fight over the military budget, that would be a real disaster.
Take, for instance, the recently elevated Kingdom of Montenegro, which never had any conflict between its land and naval forces.
Since the Ottoman Empire withdrew from the Balkans, Montenegro truly let its horses roam freely in the southern mountains.
It must be said that this was a smart move, for a small country with no more than two hundred thousand people, maintaining an army was an extravagance.
Of course, the Kingdom of Montenegro, in name, also had both land and naval forces. The police on the land were the army, and the police in charge of combating smuggling at sea were the navy.
Expand armaments, what were they thinking? Their neighboring countries were no easy adversaries, and if they attracted the enmity of the Vienna Government, they could be wiped out within minutes.
Fervent nationalism also required some conditions to be ignited; the rulers were not fools. Who would risk their fortunes and lives for something completely hopeless?
Once the pressure was gone, the Kingdom of Montenegro, devoted to farming, was not doing too badly; even though it had not become wealthy, it was on the path to prosperity.
This time, Franz had no intention of making state visits along the way; he just passed through three countries. Greece and Montenegro were not worth his effort to personally woo, and the Ottoman Empire was already an enemy, meant to be fought against, unnecessary for a visit.
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