Chapter 1013: A New Gamble

The topic of going south and going north reappeared in the imperial meeting. However, what is different from the past is that the southward strategy is now bankrupt.

Since the plan to seize the Philippine Islands failed, the follow-up Nanyang strategy is even more unnecessary. If the Continental Union can intervene the first time, it can intervene the second time. If you continue to go south recklessly, it will be a sign of being tired of living.

From an overall point of view, although Japan suffered heavy losses in the Philippine War, they were not completely without gains.

Among them, the biggest benefit is the acquisition of a modern fleet. In the past, they had capital ships that they could not buy with money, but they got them in the war.

Judging from the total tonnage of warships alone, the Japanese Navy has become the fifth naval power in the world after Britain, Austria, Russia, and Spain.

If there is no accident, after the end of the Philippine War, the warships purchased by the Japanese government at auction will return to China, and their ranking will be able to surpass Spain and Russia, and become the world's third naval power.

If nothing else, this is the highlight moment of the Japanese Empire. It's a pity that behind this glamor and beauty, there is also an empty treasury.

Based on Japan's current situation, if it does not expand abroad, it is impossible to support such a fleet, even if all the government's fiscal revenue is invested in it, it will not be enough.

"Judging from the current situation, it is indeed easier to go north than to go south. The problem is that the empire's finances can no longer support a big war.

North Korea is nothing to worry about, but we cannot ignore xxx's response. Even though they have fallen, they are still a giant to us.

Once a war breaks out, it is not something we can unilaterally end when it ends. If the war continues, the empire is likely to be dragged to death. "

It's not that Kuroda Kiyotaka is timid, it's really that the Japanese government's finances are too bad. Although the Philippine Islands are rich, they have no time to operate and operate, and the plundered wealth alone is not enough to support the war.

With no money in his pocket, he is not stubborn in doing anything. Although the neighbors have fallen, they have a solid family background, and with the current strength of the Japanese Empire, there is no certainty of victory.

Aritomo Yamagata: "Mr. Kuroda, right now is the best opportunity to go north. Because of the Battle of the Philippines, our neighbors have relaxed their vigilance against us. They are imagining that we and the Spaniards will lose both.

But they forgot that although we suffered heavy losses in the war, the military strength of the empire is constantly growing, and the balance of strength between the two sides has changed.

The empire's finances restrict the development of military power, and we cannot support such a large army in peacetime. Our national strength determines that the military power of the empire is now at its peak, at least for the next twenty years.

If we don't take advantage of our current advantages to knock down our neighbors and expand enough living space for the empire, we will have no chance in the future.

We have no choice. For the future of the Japanese Empire, no matter how great the risk is, it must be done. What's more, the risk now is not great, even if the failure is a big deal, the old events of 1874 will be repeated. "

Ambition comes not only from strength, but also from the "face" of a decaying empire. Even if the invasion fails, they can get compensation, so what else is there to be afraid of?

Even if the war is lost, the worst thing is to lie low and perform a few more small performances, and the matter will pass, and maybe you can take advantage of it.

No matter how powerful such a country is, it cannot be feared. It is more cost-effective to be an enemy than to be a friend.

In a sense, the ambitions of the Japanese government were indulged by the xxx empire. If it had been changed to another master, Japan would have been crippled in 1874, and there would be no follower...

In addition to soft persimmons that are easy to pinch, what's more important is that you don't need to encounter great powers when you go north, unlike Nanyang, where great powers gather together, and you will step on thunder if you are not careful.

The main reason is that the tsarist government has been very busy in the past thirty or forty years. It first captured Constantinople, then taught the restless Prussia a lesson, and is now busy going south to India.

The government's strategic center of gravity has not moved eastward, and the pace of Russian expansion in the Far East has naturally slowed down, and the tentacles have not yet had time to penetrate North Korea.

With the lessons learned from the failure of going south, this is the time when the Japanese government is most afraid of the great powers. Although they did not lose against Spain, they couldn't be arrogant if they didn't win.

Seeing that no one answered, Emperor Meiji frowned and asked, "Does the Ministry of the Navy have any different opinions?"

"No!"

Secretary of the Navy Saigo replied slowly from the road.

According to the practice of the Japanese military, the navy will oppose any proposal made by the army, and vice versa. What's more, now that the battle for expansion routes is involved, the battle should be even more intense.

However, it is hard to say that Xixiang followed the Tao. No matter how good the reasons are, the southward strategy has failed. As the base camp of the Southward Faction and the leader of the invasion of the Philippines, the Ministry of the Navy is naturally to blame.

Such a big responsibility, even the Admiralty cannot afford it. To avoid future political reckoning, they have to compromise now.

In fact, not only the Ministry of the Navy, but also the top levels of the Japanese government are grasshoppers on the same rope. Resisting the European Continental Union is a death sentence, and there is no way to explain it to the country if it makes a compromise.

If you want to land safely, you must find an excuse that can be accepted by the people. Although "sound south hit north" is a bit far-fetched, it is better than nothing.

The current Japanese people have not yet reached the craziest time. As long as they win in the end and have a decent spoil, they can explain the past.

After a moment of silence, Emperor Meiji said indifferently

: "If you have no objections, then prepare to negotiate with the Continental Union.

Prime Minister, if you know Europe best about the Continental Union, you can preside over the negotiations. Don't expect to keep the Philippine Islands, but try to get compensation for the empire!

For the issue of going north, the military will come up with a plan as soon as possible. We can't afford to lose anymore, and you should know what the consequences will be if another accident happens. "

It can be seen that Emperor Meiji is very dissatisfied with the current situation. However, apart from warning and beating, he couldn't do anything else, and the depression in it can be imagined.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

...

After one game is over, another game table is immediately played. Facing a gambler-like government, Ito Hirobumi has nothing to say.

It knew it was wrong, but the Japanese government had no choice. It is easy to leave the gambling table, but the problem is what to do with the remaining debts after closing the game?

Don't look at the joy of "government bankruptcy-debt restructuring" in European countries. If the Japanese government dares to follow suit, it will immediately become the "chicken" used to scare monkeys.

Don't mention the Anglo-Japanese alliance, which involves vital interests, no matter what alliance is useless. In this regard, the British government is the most realistic.

To use the most popular sentence in the international media to describe it: "The one who dares to blame Britain must be a land power country." If you want to be more specific, you can also add a Russian Empire to the end.

So far, only the tsarist government has been able to successfully repudiate the British and have not received "cordial condolences" from the Royal Navy.

Including the countries of the European Continental Union, they are now having fun going bankrupt, and none of them say they are going to renege on their debts. The requests made one by one are: reduction or exemption of part of the loan interest, or grace payment time.

They have a backer, but they really have no money, and the British government can't do it well. The creditors can only accept debt restructuring with a sad face. Anyway, it is better to be able to recover the cost than to lose everything.

If the Japanese government were to change, this kind of treatment would be out of the question. The southward strategy failed and the Russians did not move eastward. Japan’s value to Britain has dropped to a low point, and it is not worth the British government’s selling their face.

...

Of course, Franz didn't know the suffering the Japanese government was facing. Although the memory of his previous life has faded over time, it still doesn't affect his displeasure with the Meiji government.

The price of laboring the expedition is too high, and it is okay to beat the sap secretly. What is even more comforting is that the Japanese government, which has been severely beaten by the society, still thinks that the Spanish government's public relations played a role.

Since the Japanese misunderstood, let them continue to misunderstand, just be a hero behind the scenes, and Franz has always kept a respectful distance from things that show off his hatred.

Franz no longer cares about the next international mediation. As long as the British government's brain is not flooded, Japan's withdrawal from Nanyang is a foregone conclusion.

Franz would be even happier if the British government had lost its mind and jumped out to support Japan at this time. As far as events magnify, it's Britain versus the Continental Union.

If it really becomes "Eighteen princes begging for Dong", then there is no need to do anything, and within five years, Shinra will be the only world overlord.

It's just that the hegemony obtained by this kind of teamwork is not stable. As a good ally of Shinra, the Russian Empire is likely to seize India; and the United States of America, which is far away in the Americas, may also take the opportunity to annex Canada.

This is not a problem of 1+1=2, mass production will also cause qualitative changes. Whether it is Russia, which annexed India, or the United States, which annexed Canada, they all have the potential to become world hegemons.

One-on-one Shinra is not cowardly. Although the current Russian Empire has less internal conflicts, the price paid is a significant reduction in population, and the advantage in the number of gray livestock no longer exists.

Even if you get India, with the bureaucratic efficiency of the tsarist government, it will not be transformed into national power in the short term.

The United States, known as the chosen country, is now a shrunken version. Not only is there no southern region and Alaska, but more importantly, the quality of the population has dropped significantly, and domestic racial conflicts have risen sharply.

It's a pity that the Virgin Mary is not popular now, and the government of the United States suppressed the contradictions by force. Otherwise, they would send them a saint, and there would be no problems at all.

A single family of Shinra can hold back, but if these two guys from all over the world join hands, things will not be so easy to handle.

It is obviously unrealistic to directly resort to violent beatings. Every time a war of this level breaks out, it is a heavy blow to the Shenluo Empire.

Especially these guys are big guys, they can't be killed with a stick. France next door is an example. Before it has recovered from the trauma of war, the voices clamoring for revenge in the country have begun to rise.

Although King Carlos has tried his best to suppress it, it is impossible to keep people from talking in this country that advocates freedom.

The hatred will continue. If it really becomes the hegemony of the world all the way, it is estimated that the hatred will overthrow the hegemony of Shinra before Shinra himself falls.

As long as he thinks of Britain, France, Russia, the United States or more countries taking revenge together, Franz feels his scalp tingling. Fighting all the way, what is the road to overlord, it is clearly the road to suicide leading to hell.

Not only destroying oneself, but also dragging the entire human civilization to hell together. It seems that this is what the mustaches in the original time and space did. The awesome Third Reich soon became history in the flames of war.

Since it is impossible to pass all the way, then Britain, the overlord, should be left alone for the time being. As long as the British don't kill themselves, it won't be a big problem to support it for another ten or eight years.

Shinra just used this time to continue practicing his internal skills, and when he possessed absolute strength

After the advantage is over, go over to take the offer. In order to avoid the lack of strength, people can take advantage of it.

Don't do anything right now, and deal with the economic crisis honestly! If the European continent collapses, no matter what hegemony is, it will collapse at the touch of a finger.

...

Prime Minister Karl: "Your Majesty, the list of the first batch of specially dispatched workers has been finalized. They come from 13 countries including Sabah, Belgium, and Switzerland, with a total of 468,000 people. They are expected to start boarding ships to go overseas next week.

The recruitment of the second and third batches of laborers is almost done. The number of applicants was unexpectedly large. As of last week, the number of applicants had exceeded 18 million. It seems that the governments of various countries have concealed the crisis. "

There is no way, the "labor dispatch plan" was originally intended to solve the unemployment rate in my younger brother's country. With the participation of other European countries, the scope of recruitment has also expanded to the entire European continent.

Regardless of the fact that the ratio of the number of recruits to applicants is only 1:6, it doesn't seem to be very many. Any job fair in future generations can add a zero at the end.

The problem is that the base is huge. Eighteen million people signed up for the recruitment of three million workers. Even though some of them are employed, there are still more unemployed people who did not sign up because they did not want to work in the colonies.

From the data analysis, it can be determined that the unemployment rate of European countries has far exceeded the information provided by the governments of various countries.

Now Franz somewhat understands why the economic summit is progressing so fast. With such a high unemployment rate, the governments of various countries are sitting on the powder keg every day, even if they are not efficient.

Not to mention that the conditions of the Vienna government are not excessive, no matter how harsh the conditions are, in order to maintain their own rule, they can only accept them.

"Um!"

After a pause, Franz asked with concern: "Is the language teacher in place?"

The scope has expanded, and the original labor dispatch plan has undergone qualitative changes. If it weren't for the fear of arousing the vigilance of the governments of various countries, Franz would have opened up the recruitment long ago.

Attracting immigrants is secondary. The most important thing is to promote language and culture and expand the soft power of the empire.

Whether you want to admit it or not, English is the most widely used language these days, followed by Spanish, and Austrian is not as widely spread as French.

Because of historical problems, French has the reputation of "noble language", so that European nobles ran to learn French. Even with the decline of France, the language of European diplomacy is still French.

If people don't want to learn language and culture, you can't force them into their heads.

Overseas is a little better. Because of defeating France, Shinra has become more attractive to people of insight who are eager to learn to save their lives, and it has also inspired the trend of learning Austrian.

Continental Europe is no good. They are all old neighbors. Who doesn't know who?

If you say that Shinra has the biggest fist, everyone will believe it; if you say that Shinra culture is better, go fooling around!

Wudou is no match for you, but everyone in Wendou is still not afraid. Regardless of whether it is a divided Italy or a declining and disfigured Greece, in terms of history and culture, they all exist to beat Shenluo.

If it weren't for the banner of the Roman heir, Franz himself would be ashamed to promote his long history and culture. But it's okay to use this thing to fool people overseas, so don't take it upon yourself in continental Europe.

It's not that the Vienna government has made great efforts, but when it comes to art, the French and Italians are obviously more professional.

As the saying goes, "the country is unfortunate and the poet is lucky", now that the country is developing well, those works of art that worry about the country and the people will naturally not come out.

In contrast, the divided Italy and the defeated France both provided the best stage for the creation of literati. All kinds of works of art are now pouring out.

If you can't compare with art, you can only play with technology. The economic crisis is the best opportunity. Others don't have to learn it, but those who go to work in the overseas territories of Shinra must learn Austrian.

Whoever owns the territory is the master. Not only do you need to learn the language, but you also have to change your living habits.