Chapter 383: Danish Princess

What is the cost of a submarine with such barely satisfactory specifications? According to the submarine R&D team's estimates for the price of various components, labor, and other costs, the cost of one submarine is approximately 50, 00 pounds, which is 750, 00 pesetas.

Although 750, 00 pesetas is not a small amount, compared to the tens of millions or even tens of millions of pesetas spent on large warships, the cost of building a submarine is clearly not even a fraction of a normal warship.

Given that the funds required to build a submarine are not high, Gao Da decided to build 10 submarines in one go, to first equip the Spanish submarine force.

Only by equipping a sufficient number of submarines can the shortcomings of existing submarines be discovered during daily training and combat missions, and then specific improvements can be made based on the discovered shortcomings.

When the generals of the Navy Force learned that Gao Da intended to build ten submarines at once, even though they knew that building 10 submarines would only cost 7. million pesetas, this news still made the generals of the Navy Force extremely excited.

For those naval officers who personally participated in submarine R&D, they certainly understood the strategic significance and value of this new type of warship.

If in a head-on battle, ten submarines would not compare to a cruiser with a tonnage of several thousand tons. But if a submarine successfully submerges and approaches an enemy's main warship, the results a single submarine can achieve might be impossible for several cruisers of several thousand tons to attain.

Cruisers in the thousands-of-tons class are far behind battleships in terms of firepower and armor protection, and these warships find it difficult to inflict damage on main warships of the battleship class.

A battleship only needs to hit with one shell to cause massive damage to a cruiser. It is precisely because of this that when countries estimate naval superiority, they only consider main warships and do not take these small and medium-sized warships of several thousand tons into account.

And a thing like a submarine can play a positive role in a head-on naval battle, which is something those cruisers of several thousand tons cannot compare to at all.

In addition to building ten submarines at once, Gao Da also invested more than 20 million pesetas into the submarine R&D department.

For Gao Da, the development of submarines in the next few years might be even more important than the development of battleships. Battleships will be updated in a few years, ushering in the era of dreadnoughts.

But submarines are different; whether in the era of battleships or the era of dreadnoughts, submarines can exert their unique role.

Spain will not lose money by investing a large amount of funds in submarine R&D; submarines were already able to play an extremely important role in World War I, which is incomparable to machines like tanks and airplanes that require stability.

Although tanks and airplanes were already born during World War I, due to immature technology, the breakdown rate of tanks was high, and it was difficult to demonstrate the ability of a land hegemon as in World War II.

The performance of airplanes was slightly better than that of tanks, but only slightly. Because the technology was not very mature, the various data and lethality of airplanes during World War I were limited, and the role of airplanes was far inferior to that of the World War II era.

Gao Da is very ambitious. Spain wants to develop submarines, and it also wants to develop tanks and airplanes.

Just imagine, if Spain had already mastered sufficiently mature submarine, tank, and airplane technology during the World War I era, would there be any need to worry about the final outcome of this war and Spain's choice of alignment?

There would be absolutely no need to worry.

If Spain could become the most powerful country by virtue of its leading military technology, the landscape of the Great War in Europe would also change because of Spain.

At that time, it would not be as simple as Spain choosing a camp. The two major military groups would inevitably have to pay a more attractive price to win over Spain.

And for Spain, unifying the Iberian Peninsula and recovering Gibraltar might be possible during that period.

As the construction of submarines began, time quickly arrived at the latter part of 1896.

Prince Hu An Fernando's visit to various European countries, which lasted several months, finally came to a successful conclusion.

First, regarding state affairs, this European visit did have some gains. Although countries like the United Kingdom were not within Gao Da's consideration, on the surface, Prince Hu An Fernando led the diplomatic visiting team to visit almost all the monarchical countries in Europe.

The arrival of the Spanish diplomatic visiting team was warmly welcomed by the European monarchical countries, and the reception standards of various countries for the Spanish diplomatic visiting team were also the highest.

Those who came out to meet Prince Hu An Fernando were either the crown princes of various countries or the prime ministers of various countries.

In the region of the European continent, there was really no country at this time that dared not give Spain face. Disregarding the diplomatic delegation led by the Spanish Crown Prince would not only cause diplomatic disputes between the two countries, but in serious cases, it could even lead to contradictions or even war between the two countries.

After touring Europe, Prince Hu An Fernando really found a European royal princess he quite liked, Louise Caroline Josephine Sophie Thyra Olga from the Danish royal family.

Princess Louise's father is the later King Frederick VIII of Denmark, who is currently only the Crown Prince of Denmark.

This Crown Prince, born in 1843, is now 53 years old, much older than Gao Da. Unfortunately, Frederick VIII's father, Christian IX, is a rare long-lived monarch.

The current King of Denmark, Christian IX, was born in 1818 and is 78 years old as of this year.

What is more desperate than Crown Prince Frederick having been a crown prince for 33 years? The answer is that he still needs to be a crown prince for another 10 years.

This famous long-lived old man, Christian IX, lived until 1906 in history, dying at the age of 88.

It is precisely because of Christian IX's longevity that his son, Crown Prince Frederick, was already 62 years old when he succeeded to the throne.

Because he became King of Denmark only when he was half-buried, Frederick VIII passed away after reigning for only 6 years, passing the throne to his son, Christian X.

From this, one can clearly see the disadvantages brought by a long-lived monarch, which is that the succession of the throne is prone to obvious problems.

Gao Da certainly hopes that he can live a little longer, sit in Spain, and let Spain safely pass through the two important time nodes of World War I and World War II.

But at the same time, Gao Da will not hold onto the throne for too long. After Prince Hu An Fernando finishes his marriage, he will need to further contact Spanish government affairs and prepare for his succession.

Regarding the marriage candidate favored by Prince Hu An Fernando, Gao Da decided to go with the flow after a brief investigation.

Princess Louise Caroline Josephine Sophie Thyra Olga, as the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Frederick, is still very favored in the Danish royal family.

Unlike the Savoy family of the Spanish royal family, which is a dynasty that finds peace in a corner, the Glücksburg royal family of Denmark has a longer history in Europe.

Because the members of the Glücksburg family are basically descendants of King Christian III of Denmark of the Oldenburg dynasty, Glücksburg is also considered a branch of Oldenburg.

Back to the Danish royal family, Christian IX's son George I was elected King of Greece, and his daughter Alexandra married the British Crown Prince Edward. Christian IX's mother was a Swedish princess, which also linked Denmark to many European countries.

If one can marry into Denmark, it is also good news for the Spanish royal family. After all, the Spanish royal family was established too recently; the Savoy family only just arrived in Spain during Gao Da's time.

Only by constantly marrying these European royal families can one consolidate one's status and at the same time gain the support of many European royal families.

Do not underestimate the support of these European royal families. Although only a small portion of them control powerful major powers, these large and small European countries added together can also be twisted into a rope, forming no small force.

Although most of the time, everyone will fight for the interests of their own countries, if faced with a crisis that threatens the monarchy and the interests of the nobility themselves, I believe many of these European royal families would not mind uniting to let these guys who oppose the monarchy understand that bloodlines that have been passed down for thousands or even thousands of years in Europe are not so easily severed.

European royal families are connected by blood; wanting to threaten the monarchy means considering the entire European royal family as an enemy.

Since the marriage candidate has been confirmed, Gao Da did not hesitate at all.

Gao Da first sent a diplomatic invitation to the Danish royal family in the name of the Spanish royal family. Subsequently, Queen Sophie invited Crown Prince Frederick's wife and Princess Louise to come in a private capacity, implicitly expressing her expectations for the marriage.

At the time of entertaining Prince Hu An Fernando, Princess Louise Caroline Josephine Sophie Thyra Olga and Prince Hu An Fernando had already met.

As the parties involved, the Danish royal family certainly saw the sparks between the two young people. The Danish royal family is certainly not opposed to marrying into the Spanish royal family. They even quite hope to marry into the Spanish royal family and gain an ally that is a powerful major power.

The day after the Spanish royal family sent a diplomatic invitation to the Danish royal family, the Danish royal family sent a reply to the Spanish royal family, not only accepting Spain's diplomatic invitation but also deciding to travel to Spain for a diplomatic visit with great fanfare.

Speaking of Denmark, this was once one of the powerful hegemonic countries in Europe. Denmark once led the Kalmar Union and ruled Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, making it one of the most powerful countries on the European continent at the time.

But Denmark's mainland is only a small part of it after all; wanting to rule the vast areas of Sweden and Norway is still very difficult.

This is equivalent to Portugal wanting to swallow Spain in reverse; even if it could luckily achieve its goal due to various accidents, it would definitely be defeated by the Spanish in the end, thereby losing its ruling status.

First, Sweden broke away from the Kalmar Union, and then at the beginning of this century, Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden, leaving Denmark with only three main lands: the mainland, Iceland, and Greenland.

Naturally, there is no need to say much about Iceland and Greenland; these two lands remain sparsely populated and barren areas even in later generations.

The environment of the Danish mainland is actually quite good, but because the territory is not a complete piece, it has limited Denmark's development to a certain extent.

More importantly, to the north of Denmark is Sweden, and to the south is Germany.

The relationship between these two countries and Denmark has never been very good, which has also plunged the already weak Denmark into a more awkward situation.

Before Germany was unified, the Dano-Prussian War broke out. The Dano-Prussian War, the Austro-Prussian War, and the Franco-Prussian War are collectively known as the trilogy of Prussia's rise, and it was these three wars that allowed Prussia to completely defeat foreign enemies and establish the unified German Empire.

Against such a historical background, it would be strange if the relationship between Denmark and Germany were good. Naturally, there is no need to say much about Sweden; the fact that Sweden could rebel from the Kalmar Union led by Denmark already proves that the relationship between Sweden and Denmark is not very good.

Coupled with the fact that Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden decades ago, although the relationship has been eased by marriages between the two countries, it cannot be counted as a friendly country.

Given Denmark's current situation, it is actually very normal for the Danish royal family to want to marry into Spain.

Although the Spanish royal family does not have a deep foundation, Spain is a powerful country. Moreover, Gao Da himself has unparalleled prestige in Spain; becoming an ally with such a king brings unimaginable benefits.

Although marriages between royal families will ease the relationship between countries, it also depends on the influence and status of the royal family in the country.

If it is those royal families that look like they have deep foundations but actually have no power, even if one can marry them, the benefits that can be obtained are actually not many.

The open and aboveboard match-making behavior between the Spanish and Danish royal families naturally attracted the attention of European royal families.

In fact, European royal families have paid attention to the growth of Gao Da's children.

There is no way; ever since Spain rose, Spain's influence and status in Europe have improved a lot.

For small and medium-sized countries in Europe, if they can marry into Spain, the benefits obtained are very many.

For the royal family, they can gain a powerful ally to ensure their status. Even if their throne is overthrown in the future, they can completely go to Spain for refuge.

Even in some cases, they can get support from Spain, thereby obtaining the restoration of the throne.

For the governments of various countries, the marriage between the royal family and Spain will also bring the relationship between the country and Spain closer.

After all, Spain is a major power; as long as economic and industrial cooperation is reached with Spain, these small and medium-sized countries can obtain a steady stream of benefits.

These two points alone are enough to attract the attention of many European countries. Not to mention that it also involves the competition between the two major military groups in Europe; who can marry the next King of Spain, does it mean that in the future, after the Spanish throne changes, who can be the first to become an ally with Spain?

Attention is attention, but European countries are not too regretful. After all, there are very few princesses of marriageable age at this time, and many princesses are already betrothed, so naturally, they cannot hang themselves on the tree of the Spanish royal family.

But don't say that; there is really a country that is more regretful.

This country is the Netherlands. When Gao Da sent Prince Hu An Fernando to conduct high-profile diplomatic visits to various European countries, the royal families of various European countries basically understood Gao Da's intentions.

Although there is only one candidate suitable for marriage in the Dutch royal family, that is the current Queen of the Netherlands, Wilhelmina.

But who said a queen cannot be used for marriage? For the Netherlands, marrying into Spain also has benefits.

The first is the awkward position of the Netherlands, sandwiched between the three super powers of Britain, France, and Germany. Although the relationship between the Netherlands and Britain and Germany is good, historically, the place of refuge chosen by Wilhelm II after his defeat in World War I was the Netherlands.

But the problem is that the good relationship maintained with Britain and Germany is not enough to allow the Netherlands to change the current status quo.

The Netherlands needs an ally that is not adjacent, and Spain is obviously a very good choice. It is a pity that because Wilhelmina is already the Queen of the Netherlands, the contact with Prince Hu An Fernando is naturally not so easy.

Gao Da also asked his son, and Prince Hu An Fernando did not want to marry a queen, because a queen always has to care about her country's government affairs, which also means that Queen Wilhelmina cannot live in a foreign land for a long time; she needs to stay in her own country, the Netherlands, often.

Since Prince Hu An Fernando is not satisfied with Queen Wilhelmina, Gao Da naturally cannot force it.

For Spain, the Danish royal family is basically no worse than the Dutch royal family.

As for the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina, anyway, she is still young, and the Spanish royal family still has a chance.

Gao Da plans to let Martin and Alexander also make a diplomatic visit to Europe after they turn 20.

Anyway, various countries are tacitly aware of such behavior; saying it is a diplomatic visit is false, and meeting with princesses of European royal families and looking for marriage candidates is true.

Martin was born in 1879, and he will turn 20 in three years. At that time, Queen Wilhelmina will only be 19 years old; she was not married at this time in history, so it is possible to try to match Queen Wilhelmina and Martin.

As for the youngest son, Alexander, because he was born in 1884, it will be 1904 when he turns 20, so he will definitely not catch up with the highest-status marriage candidate, Queen Wilhelmina.

Gao Da is still quite anxious about the marriage of his three sons. After all, this not only concerns the succession of the Spanish throne but also concerns the succession of their respective titles.

The marriages of these princes still need to find princesses of equal status so as not to cause public controversy.

As for the marriages of the two daughters, Princess Sophia and Princess Christina, Gao Da is not so anxious.

Anyway, there is no need for equal status; Gao Da hopes more that they find people they like. Anyway, the assets of the Spanish royal family are enough for them to live a life without worry about food and clothing. In the case of not needing to inherit the throne, being a noble is actually quite good.

5, 00 words, 2nd update.

A little late, very sorry.

(End of chapter)