Chapter 383

What is the cost of such a submarine with barely satisfactory data? According to the submarine research and development team's estimation of the price of various parts of the submarine, as well as labor and other costs, the cost of a submarine is about 50,000 pounds, which is 750,000 Pesetas.

Although 750,000 Pesetas is already quite a lot, compared to the expenditure of tens of millions or even tens of millions of Pesetas for those 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 much, Gao Da decided to build 10 submarines in one breath, and equip the Spanish submarine force first.

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

When the generals of the Naval Department learned that Gao Da intended to build ten submarines in one breath, even though they knew that building 10 submarines only required 7.5 million Pesetas, this news still made the generals of the Naval Department excited.

For those naval ships that personally participated in submarine research and development, they naturally know the strategic significance and value of this new type of warship, the submarine.

If it is head-on combat, ten submarines are not as good as a cruiser with a tonnage of several thousand tons. But if the submarine can successfully dive and approach the enemy's main warships, the results that a submarine can achieve may be something that several cruisers of several thousand tons cannot achieve.

Cruisers of the several thousand-ton level are far behind battleships in terms of firepower and armor protection, and these warships are difficult to cause damage to main warships of the battleship level.

Battleships only need to hit one shell to cause huge damage to a cruiser. Precisely because of this, when estimating the advantages of naval warfare, countries will only consider main warships and will not consider these small and medium-sized warships of several thousand tons.

And things like submarines can play a positive role in head-on naval warfare, which is something that those cruisers of several thousand tons cannot compare with at all.

In addition to building ten submarines in one breath, Gao Da also invested more than 20 million Pesetas into the submarine research and development department.

For Gao Da, the development of submarines in the next few years may be 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; submarines can play their unique role in both the era of battleships and the era of dreadnoughts.

Spain's investment of a large amount of funds in the research and development of submarines will basically not be a loss; submarines could already play an extremely important role in World War I, which is something that machines like tanks and airplanes that require stability cannot compare with.

Although tanks and airplanes were already born in World War I, because the technology was not mature, the breakdown rate of tanks was relatively high, and it was difficult to show the ability of a land hegemon like in World War II.

The performance of airplanes was slightly better than that of tanks, but it was limited to being slightly better. Because the technology was not very mature, the various data and lethality of airplanes in the World War I period were limited, and the role of airplanes was far less than in the World War II period.

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

Imagine, if Spain had already mastered sufficiently mature submarine, tank, and airplane technology during the World War I period in the future, would it still need to worry about the final victory or defeat of this war and Spain's choice of camp?

Completely no need to worry.

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

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

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

With the start of submarine construction, time also quickly reached the latter half of 1896.

Wang Chu Juan Fernando's visit to European countries, which lasted for several months, finally ended smoothly.

First of all, in terms of state affairs, this European visit still had certain gains. Although countries like Britain were not within Gao Da's consideration, on the surface, Wang Chu Juan Fernando led the diplomatic visit team to visit almost most of the monarchical countries in Europe.

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

Those who came out to meet Wang Chu Juan Fernando were either the crown princes of various countries or the prime ministers of various countries.

In this region of the European continent, at this time, there really is no country that dares not give Spain face. Disregarding the diplomatic delegation led by the Spanish Crown Wang Chu will not only cause diplomatic disputes between the two countries, but in serious cases, it may even cause contradictions or even war between the two countries.

After touring Europe, Wang Chu Juan Fernando really found a European royal princess he 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 now just the Crown Wang Chu 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, was a rare long-lived monarch.

The current King of Denmark, Christian IX, was born in 1818 and is already at the advanced age of 78 this year.

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

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

It is precisely because of Christian IX's longevity that when his son, Crown Wang Chu Frederick, succeeded to the throne, his age had already reached the advanced age of 62.

Because he became the 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 here, one can clearly see the disadvantages brought by a long-lived monarch, that is, the succession of the throne is prone to obvious problems.

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

But at the same time, Gao Da will not hold the throne in his hands for too long. After Wang Chu Juan Fernando finishes his marriage, he will need to further contact Spanish government affairs and prepare for his succession.

For the marriage candidate Wang Chu Juan Fernando favored, 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 Wang Chu Frederick, is still very favored in the Danish Royal Family.

Unlike the Savoy family of the Spanish Royal Family, which is a dynasty that is content with a corner, the Glücksburg dynasty of the Danish Royal Family 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 Wang Chu Edward. Christian IX's mother was a princess of Sweden, which also linked Denmark with many European countries.

If one can marry Denmark, it is also good news for the Spanish Royal Family. After all, the Spanish Royal Family was established for too short a time, and the Savoy family only just came to Spain from Gao Da's time.

Only by constantly marrying these European royal families can one consolidate one's own status and obtain the support of many European royal families.

Don't underestimate the support of these European royal families. Although only a small part of them control powerful countries, 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 respective countries, but if faced with a crisis that threatens the monarchy and the interests of the nobles themselves, I believe many European royal families would not mind uniting to let these guys who oppose the monarchy understand that the bloodline that has been passed down for thousands or even thousands of years in Europe is not so easy to be cut off.

European royal families are connected by bones and tendons; wanting to threaten the monarchy means having to consider being an enemy of the entire European royal family.

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

Gao Da first sent an invitation for a diplomatic visit to the Danish Royal Family in the name of the Spanish Royal Family. Subsequently, Queen Sophie invited Crown Wang Chu Frederick's wife, Princess Louise, to come in a private capacity, implicitly expressing her expectation for the marriage.

At the time of entertaining Wang Chu Juan Fernando, Princess Louise Caroline Josephine Sophie Thyra Olga and Wang Chu Juan Fernando had already met.

As the parties involved, the Danish Royal Family naturally also saw the sparks between the two young people. For marrying the Spanish Royal Family, the Danish Royal Family is naturally not exclusive. They even quite hope to marry the Spanish Royal Family and obtain an ally of a powerful country.

The day after the Spanish Royal Family sent an invitation for a diplomatic visit to the Danish Royal Family, the Danish Royal Family sent a reply to the Spanish Royal Family, not only accepting Spain's invitation for a diplomatic visit but also deciding to go 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 that time.

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

This is equivalent to Portugal wanting to annex Spain in reverse; even if it could luckily achieve the goal due to various accidents, it would definitely be defeated by the Spaniards 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, which left Denmark with only three main pieces of land: the mainland, Iceland, and Greenland.

Iceland and Greenland naturally go without saying; these two pieces of land are still desolate areas with sparse population until later generations.

The environment of the Danish mainland is actually quite good, but because the territory is not a complete piece, it limits 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 also makes the already weak Denmark fall 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.

Under such a historical background, it would be strange if the relationship between Denmark and Germany were good. Sweden naturally goes without saying; the fact that Sweden could rebel out of the Kalmar Union led by Denmark already proves that the relationship between Sweden and Denmark is not very good.

Plus, decades ago, Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden; although the relationship was eased by the marriage 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 Spain.

Although the Spanish Royal Family does not have a deep foundation, Spain is a powerful country. What's more, Gao Da himself has unparalleled prestige in Spain; becoming an ally with such a king brings unimaginable benefits.

Although marriage 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 a deep foundation but actually have no power, even if they can marry them, the benefits they can get are actually not much.

The behavior of Spain and the Danish Royal Family in this open and aboveboard matchmaking naturally aroused the attention of royal families in various European countries.

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

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

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

For the royal family, they can obtain a powerful ally to guarantee 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 Spain's support, 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 powerful country; as long as they reach economic and industrial cooperation with Spain, these small and medium-sized countries can obtain a steady stream of benefits.

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

Attention is attention, but European countries did not feel too much regret. After all, there are very few princesses of the right age at this time, and many princesses already have marriages, so it is naturally impossible to hang themselves on the tree of the Spanish Royal Family.

But don't say, there really are countries that feel regret.

This country is the Netherlands. When Gao Da sent Wang Chu Juan Fernando to visit European countries in a high-profile manner, the royal families of European countries basically understood Gao Da's intention.

Although there is only one object suitable for marriage in the Dutch Royal Family, that is the current Queen of the Netherlands, Wilhelmina.

But who said that a queen cannot be used for marriage? For the Netherlands, marrying 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 where William II chose to take refuge after being defeated in World War I was the Netherlands.

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

The Netherlands needs an ally that is not adjacent, and Spain is clearly a very good choice. Unfortunately, because Wilhelmina is already the Queen of the Netherlands, the contact with Wang Chu Juan Fernando is naturally not so easy.

Gao Da also asked his son; Wang Chu Juan 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, and she needs to stay in her own country, the Netherlands, often.

Since Wang Chu Juan Fernando is not satisfied with Queen Wilhelmina, Gao Da naturally cannot force it.

For Spain, the Danish Royal Family is basically not much worse than the Dutch Royal Family.

As for the Queen of the Netherlands, Wilhelmina, anyway, she is still young, and the Spanish Royal Family still has a chance.

Gao Da plans to let Martin and Alexander also have a diplomatic visit to Europe after they reach the age of 20.

Anyway, countries also know this behavior tacitly; saying it is a diplomatic visit is false, meeting with princesses of European royal families and looking for marriage objects is true.

Martin was born in 1879, and in three years he will reach the age of 20. 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, by the time he reaches the age of 20, it will already be 1904, and he will definitely not catch up with Queen Wilhelmina, the marriage object with the highest status.

For the marriage of his three sons, Gao Da is still relatively anxious. After all, this not only relates to the succession of the Spanish throne but also relates to the succession of their respective titles.

The marriage of these princes still needs to find princesses who are well-matched in social status, so as not to cause public opinion controversy.

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

Anyway, there is no need to be well-matched in social status; Gao Da hopes more that they find people they like. Anyway, the assets of the Spanish Royal Family are enough for them to have no worries about food and clothing for a lifetime. In the case of not needing to inherit the throne, being a noble is actually quite good.

5000 words, 2nd update.

A bit late, very sorry.

(End of this chapter)