Chapter 988 Sesame and Watermelon

The abandoned materials were valuable, and the ships carrying them were even more valuable. ơɱ

However, Edward Hobart Seymour knew that the tens of thousands of professional sailors and marines were the most valuable.

But what the fleet commander, Vice Admiral Manco, salvaged at his death were the spoils of war snatched from Austrian merchants, wine sent by the French, and even a box of medals shipped from the UK.

Edward Hobart Seymour was furious, but it was not appropriate to pursue such things at this time. On the contrary, he needed to appease the emotions of these generals.

Otherwise, the entire army would be at risk of morale collapse.

The new aircraft and strange weapons used by the Austrians were too heavy a blow to the morale of the British army.

As for how Vice Admiral Manco said that the Austrian navy was well-trained and well-equipped, it was just an excuse for the incompetent in the eyes of Edward Hobart Seymour.

Rather than shirking responsibility, he had more important things to do at this time, which was to formulate the next battle plan.

However, he did not have many options. It was not a wise move to continue attacking Crete or to go deep into the Adriatic Sea to harass the Austrian Empire's coast without knowing the military situation.

Thinking of this, old Edward Hobart Seymour could not help but feel a little annoyed. What were the idiots in the Military Intelligence Department doing? Why didn't they focus on the important information that the Austrian Empire had a large number of new weapons!

In fact, this was a bit unfair to the British intelligence department. The four major intelligence agencies in the UK were: the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Army Intelligence Service, the Naval Intelligence Service, and the Cambridge Alumni Association.

They had long reported what happened in Italy back to Britain, but no one believed it, from the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, to the ministers of various departments.

Coupled with the media's random reports, even the people and soldiers thought it was just a bad joke.

As for Britain's eyes in the Central Mediterranean, they had been swept by the Austrian side in the previous war.

Coupled with the fall of the Orleans Dynasty, even the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies gave up its original position and moved closer to the Austrian Empire.

The result was that the original British deployment in the Apennines and Greece was completely invalid, which led to the British becoming blind in the Central Mediterranean.

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies originally belonged to the Bourbon branch and had always opposed Austria's expansion in Italy, so it flirted with the British.

However, in the great rebellion of 1848, the British chose to watch from the other side of the river, and even flirted with the rebels in secret, and even wanted to support their own puppets.

At this time, the Austrian Empire was the defender of order and had indeed defeated the rebels.

Of course, in addition to respect and gratitude, Ferdinand II and his subjects were more afraid of the powerful power and almost infinite financial resources of the Austrian Empire.

If Ferdinand II and his Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were asked to solve the famine raging on the Apennine Peninsula, even if all the money in the treasury and bankers' pockets was emptied, it would not work.

The countries most affected by the British interception of Austrian merchant ships were not Austria, but those countries that were waiting for Austrian assistance.

The British embassies in these countries were protested and besieged one after another, and coupled with the influence of nationalism, the intelligence work of British embassy staff and businessmen was greatly hindered.

The British's rhetoric was even more difficult to convince. They claimed that this was for peace and justice, and everyone's sacrifice and efforts were worth it.

However, the starving people in Italy did not understand why they were always the ones who paid the price and were sacrificed, and for whose peace and justice were they suffering these hardships?

In fact, some pro-British factions came up with a compromise, that is, the British could continue to rob Austrian merchant ships, but they had to transport the grain to the Apennine countries.

This would not only calm domestic dissatisfaction, but also better shape the glorious image of the savior of the British Empire.

However, the British Governor-General of Malta, Earl Solon, and the new Mediterranean Fleet Commander Edward Hobart Seymour, both rejected this proposal.

First of all, allowing grain to enter the Apennine Peninsula was obviously inconsistent with the major policy of destroying the Austrian Empire's economy, because no one could guarantee that the Austrians would not go to Central Italy or even Southern Italy to buy grain.

Secondly, the issue of rights and responsibilities. Britain is a civilized country and has no right to send grain from other countries to third countries, let alone this responsibility.

Finally, it is not feasible. The quantity and types of goods carried by the merchant ships of the Austrian Empire were very complex, and the destinations were even more different.

During the war, it was impossible for Britain to allocate so many people to identify them one by one, let alone send a fleet for supervision.

In fact, it was the British pirate habits that were at work. The goods carried by the Austrian merchant ships were very valuable.

There were tens of thousands of tons of grain alone, not to mention other goods and the most valuable merchant ships themselves.

As for the lack of manpower sent to various countries, this problem was actually very easy to solve. Just let merchants from various countries take the initiative to send ships to buy.

After all, the least worrying thing to sell during famine is food.

The income from looting is much higher than military pay, and at this time, you can loot and get military pay. There is no better time for British soldiers.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Sicily.

Old Edward Hobart Seymour would never have thought that at this time, the main force of the Austrian Empire Navy was facing him across the sea in Augusta Bay.

The successive victories boosted the morale of the Austrian Navy. Almost everyone felt that the British were vulnerable or that the world's number one was just like that.

However, as the commander, Friedrich was not happy at all.

Because in his plan, he used so many new equipment and concentrated such a large fleet to at least annihilate or cripple the British, and then start the second phase of the plan.

However, the reality is that even if the British took all the damage, it was only a minor injury. Thirty-five battleships are still a force that cannot be ignored.

At the same time, Friedrich was also glad that he did not directly fight with Seymour on the way back to Malta.

If the two sides really met on a narrow road, even if the Austrian Navy could win, it would be a miserable victory, and I am afraid that his years of hard work would be destroyed.

The fleet built with a lot of money and the carefully trained sailors would at least lose more than half, and there is no possibility of completely annihilating the enemy.

Even if the British lost the Mediterranean Fleet again, the blow to them would still be within an acceptable range.

And if the Austrian Navy lost more than half, then they would become an army kept in a fish tank again.

Fortunately, he followed Franz's advice and just pursued the enemy instead of choosing a strategic decisive battle.

It was precisely because of the pursuit that the British Navy's resistance was not fierce, and they began to flee after a symbolic resistance.