As the saying goes, the Italian army on the Eastern Front accumulated 250,000 troops, while the Archduke Albrecht had only 80,000 in his hands, so it was normal not to push Venice.

However, as soon as the war opened a breakthrough, full flowering was the situation that Archduke Albrecht wanted, and on the Eastern Front Austria-Hungary was already a victory against the Kingdom of Italy with a small number of men. Next, it still depends on whether the Austro-Hungarian Navy can open up a new situation and open up a new battlefield.

……

Adriatic Sea.

A large fleet was sailing at great speed, led by the Austro-Hungarian naval fleet from Fum (present-day Rijeka, Croatia).

"This time it's time for us to fight back! It has always been a regret in my heart that I did not take advantage of the victory to counterattack the Italian Navy last time, and this time we must make the Italian Navy realize the progress of the Imperial Navy again! Wilhelm von Tergerthoff stood on the deck and confidently said to his subordinates.

"We will definitely continue to confirm victory this time!"

"Victory for the Empire! ……”

This was the confidence that the name Wilhelm von Tergethoff brought to the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

After the victory at the Battle of Lissa, Wilhelm von Tergethoff became a hero of Austria, and Franz urged him to go south to the Dalmatian coast in order to secure the development of naval bases in the region.

Unlike in history, Wilhelm von Tergethoff carried out a comprehensive and systematic upgrade of the military base on the Dalmatian coast, because in 1867 he went on a sad mission to Mexico to transport the body of his benefactor, Emperor Massimiliano, who had been shot by Juárez Benito, back to his homeland.

Now that Massimiliano I is alive and well and has become the commander-in-chief of the East African Navy, there is no delay in Wilhelm von Tegthoff's construction of a military base on the Dalmatian coast, and the two also have some exchanges on the future development of the navy.

In 1868 he became Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, a member of the Military Council and a member of the House of Lords, and was made a baron, vigorously promoting a comprehensive reform of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

After two years of development, the Austro-Hungarian Navy quickly narrowed the gap with the Italian Navy in terms of ships, and was much stronger than in history.

Among them, because East Africa bought two old ships from the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the Austro-Hungarian Navy took the opportunity to use this as an excuse to add two new warships, and Franz also agreed, after all, it was to wipe the ass of his younger brother Archduke Ferdinand, although Ernst paid a symbolic amount, but it was basically equivalent to giving it away.

However, it is a pity that the two new Austro-Hungarian warships are still lying in the Trieste shipyard, having just finished decking, and cannot participate in this battle.

"Report, Italian warship spotted in the northwest direction."

"Get the Lisa over!"

Austria-Hungary began construction of the ironclad ship Lisa in 1867. The Lisa was designed with a central gun chamber and a displacement of 7,000 tons, which met the standards of a first-class ironclad ship of the time. The Lissa, the ancestor of the Austro-Hungarian battleships, is now the command ship of Wilhelm von Tergethoff.

Compared with the proud Austro-Hungarian navy, the Italian navy on the other side was more aggrieved, although Italy took Venice as a new naval base in the last war, but the funds were greatly reduced, resulting in a very difficult life for the Italian navy.

Beginning in 1869, the Kingdom of Italy, which was gradually emerging from the shadow of the Battle of Lisa, finally began to begin a plan of naval expansion.

Because the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 restored the strategic importance of the Mediterranean. Italy also needed a strong fleet to safeguard its interests and protect its trade routes in the region. But before the plan could be made, Austria-Hungary declared war on Italy.

This is another huge blow to the Italian Navy, and it would be better if the war between the two countries was postponed for a few years and waited for themselves to complete the upgrade!

"Report to the General, the Austro-Hungarian naval fleet has appeared in the direction of twenty-four degrees to the southeast, and they are heading towards us at great speed!"

……

East Africa, Indian Ocean waters.

Just as the Austro-Hungarian Navy was about to collide with the Italian Navy, the Navy of the Kingdom of East Africa was organizing a cross-sea training that was completed off the coast of East Africa between Bagamoyo and Pemba Island.

"This is Jishui City (now Chuck Chuck City, Tanzania)! But the name is a bit strange, is it an indigenous name? Ferdinand, commander of the East African Navy, asked, looking at the small town in front of him.

"This place used to be called Chakchak, a small town in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, but the name Jishui was personally chosen by His Royal Highness Ernst, and we don't know the specific meaning." Jishui Mayor Ryan De said.

Of course, the transliterated name will sound strange, Jishui, a river that once existed, is a trace of Ernst's nostalgia for his hometown in his previous life.

"Not to mention anything else, the port conditions here are not bad, and it should be good if it is renovated." Archduke Ferdinand said.

"Jishui is the capital of Pemba Island, but there are currently more than 2,000 immigrants and only 10,000 people on the entire island, so it is not easy to renovate this place." Ryan replied.

"Well, isn't it allotted for your slaves?"

"Because it was taken from the Zanzibars, in order to maintain stability, the entire Pemba Island was completely cleaned up at that time, and all the Zanzibaris of Pemba Island were returned to the Sultanate of Zanzibar, not to mention the transformation of the port, and no one harvested the ripe cloves on the island."

Pemba Island is a place rich in cloves, which in previous lives accounted for 40% of the world's cloves, and Zanzibar accounted for more than 70%.

"I see! However, Pemba Island has such good conditions and is suitable as a naval base, and it would be a pity not to use the port on Pemba Island. Archduke Ferdinand said.

The topography of Pemba Island, Ferdinand has studied, the whole island is dominated by hills and plains, the coastline is tortuous, there are many harbors with the conditions to become ports, mainly concentrated on the west coast, the west coast of the island is backed by the Indian Ocean, so the harbor is calm, and at the same time faces the East African continent and Mombasa, Tanga The two ports are horns of each other, so it is suitable to build a naval base here.

"If it's a naval base, I can recommend a place for you to use directly, where the infrastructure is complete, but there are no people." Ryan said after hearing Ferdinand's words.

"Oh, where is it?"

"Mkhani in the south of Pemba, which is now largely an empty city, but was formerly a port used by the Sultanate of Zanzibar to connect the island to Pemba. Later, after we took over Pemba, Mkani was no longer used to communicate with Zanzibar, and the residents there were repatriated to Zanzibar, but the port has been empty, that is, it has not been taken care of for more than two years, and I am afraid it is somewhat deserted. ”

"O Mkani! The conditions there are really good. Hearing the name, Ferdinand really had the impression that Mkani was in the southwest of Pemba Island, and Ferdinand passed by there when he was on the boat, but it was, as Leander said, basically an empty city, with thousands of houses, but only about 200 families of East African immigrants lived there.

"If it is used as a naval base, it is really good, and you can use the facilities that are available there, and the problem of housing is directly solved." Ferdinand pondered.

Then what did he hesitate, but it was decided that Mqani would be the location of the second naval base in East Africa in the future.

(End of chapter)