Chapter 69, The Mediterranean is our inland sea

Under Franz's intervention, the all-heavy artillery battleship plan of the naval department naturally passed approval.

There was neither grandiose publicity nor deliberate secrecy.

After all, it was just a trial ship, and no one could guarantee certain success. In the journey of naval technology exploration, the Vienna government had already encountered too many pitfalls.

Without exception, each failure attracted a band of "armchair strategists" who criticized post factum. It made the naval department seem like a wastrel, squandering taxpayers' money.

In fact, the failure of new technology trials was not the point. The key issue was that the navy lacked convincing combat achievements. If it had been the army with its impressive record, they certainly wouldn't have faced such criticism.

"Burned once, twice shy."

With prior lessons learned, the naval department approached new technology and concepts with a cool head.