Chapter 1052 French Crisis
The world is always full of coincidences. Nicholas II, who was still hesitating whether to start the Trans-Siberian Railway, made a decisive decision to repair it after learning of the changes on the front line.
Obviously, after the logistics problems of the frontline troops, instead of asking him, the tsar, to respond to the problem, they turned to the Allied Command controlled by Shinra for help, which deeply stimulated Nicholas II.
In order to get rid of the influence of Shinra, Nicholas II has ignored the true purpose of the Americans.
The railway will not run away. As long as the Siberian Railway is built, no matter what calculations the Americans have, the initiative will be in the hands of the tsarist government.
Any "conspiracy" is not worth mentioning in front of absolute strength. Apart from Britain and Austria, there is no third country in this world that the tsarist government fears.
The Trans-Siberian Railway started, and the Vienna government hadn't responded yet. Carlos, who was in exile, couldn't sit still.
There is no way, the Russians have done too much. In order to save people's power and win people's hearts, Nicholas II decided that all the labor needed for the Siberian Railway would be recruited from France.
Anyone with a little brain knows what the hell Siberia is.
With Mao Xiong's usual style, he knew without thinking that the logistics of the laborers must not be guaranteed. If the French laborers really went to Siberia to build the railway, it would definitely be close to death.
Since the outbreak of the European Continental War, the young and strong labor force in France has dropped significantly. The number of soldiers killed in the European War alone exceeded that of the First World War in the original time and space.
Add losses from the Civil War, losses from population loss, and labor losses from disability. In just six years, the number of young and strong men in France has decreased by at least three million.
On the face of it, three million may not seem like a particularly large number. But don't forget that at its peak, France had a total population of just over 30 million.
Based on the 40% ratio of young and strong, the total number of young and strong labor force in the country is only 12 to 3 million. After dividing half by half for men and women, the total population of young and strong men is just over six million.
It is self-evident what it means to a country to halve the number of young and strong men.
In the original space-time France, more than one million people were killed and hundreds of thousands were injured in the First World War. They did not recover until the outbreak of World War II, let alone now.
You must know that although the French army suffered heavy casualties in the original space-time, the total population did not drop much. Now the total population of France has dropped by one-third.
At this point, it's all nonsense to try hard work and take revenge. If the Russians continue to suffer such disasters, the Ottoman Empire will be a lesson from the past.
No matter what others think, Carlos is really scared anyway.
Having gone through so much, Carlos has already understood that it is not the Russians on the surface who really want to suppress France, but the Vienna government behind the scenes.
Even if the resistance coalition defeated the Russians, it would be useless. The anti-French alliance could completely launch another anti-French war. Since the intervention of the Allied Forces Command, the war has begun to undergo qualitative changes.
According to the current situation, regardless of the end of this anti-Russian war, France is the biggest loser.
Just look at the destructive power of the Russian army, even if they are completely wiped out, France will suffer a blood loss.
It's just that it's easy to start a plan, but difficult to stop it. Neither the Russians nor the resistance organizations scattered all over the country can stop because of his words.
...
Seeing the return of the foreign minister, Carlos hurriedly asked: "What do the Austrians say? What kind of conditions do they need to intervene in the atrocities of the Russian army's forced recruitment of strong men?"
In any case, it was better to talk with the polite government of Vienna than with the unruly tsarist government.
The Vienna government also needs to pay attention to eating, the Russians don't have so many scruples, as long as they have interests, that's enough.
There is no doubt that recruiting labor from France to build the Trans-Siberian Railway can reduce the pressure on the people and is beneficial to the Russian Empire.
In this context, no matter how much they protested to the tsarist government, it was in vain.
Foreign Minister Pietro replied bitterly: "Unfortunately, Your Majesty. The Vienna government was very indifferent and did not give us a chance to communicate in depth.
Although Weissenberg verbally promised to condemn the forced recruitment of strong men by the Russian army, this condemnation does not have any meaning.
It can be seen that the Austrians have acquiesced to the atrocities of the Russian army and have no intention of interfering at all. "
There is nothing to sell or not to sell. The grievances between Shinra and France can be traced back to the Frankish Empire thousands of years ago. For European hegemony, the two countries have been fighting from the Middle Ages to the present.
The Vienna government has too many reasons to suppress France, but cannot find a reason to support France.
The end result is: they want the Vienna government to trade interests, but they can't even get a chance to negotiate.
Carlos sighed: "The Russians have already started to act, France is crying, and the people are almost unable to hold on.
If we cannot persuade the Vienna government to intervene, then we can only fight the Russian army in advance. In any case, the Russians cannot be allowed to take our people away. "
Unlike the previous exiles, the Russians forcibly recruited strong men this time, and they were simply breaking the roots of France. If you don't fight back at this time, you will have no chance to fight back in the future.
If the Russians are allowed to take away another 1.8 million young and strong men, France will enter the countdown to its demise.
If the opportunity arises, the countries of the Anti-French Alliance will not
Mind, divide up France again.
...
The potential is forced out, and in the face of the threat of life and death, the French also exploded with amazing potential.
Since the news of the Russians' forced recruitment of strong men spread, the overwhelmed French people joined the resistance organization one after another, and the French resistance movement was pushed to a climax for a while.
The domestic people are desperately resisting, and the overseas Chinese are also not idle. While donating money and goods generously, they launched a public opinion offensive.
The governments of various countries have not yet reacted, but public opinion has already been fried. With the efforts of the French, the atrocities of the Russian army spread throughout the European continent for a while.
Even Frederick, who was in the Vienna Palace, felt the pressure. Although the people of European countries are not interested in France, it does not mean that everyone can tolerate the Russian army's reckless actions.
After thousands of years of division, the European world has never lacked "crisis awareness". Especially the people of small countries, the performance is particularly prominent.
As soon as the emotion of "the rabbit died and the fox was sad" came out, public opinion began to sympathize with the French people's experience, and even Shinra also voiced opposition to the atrocities committed by the Russian army.
Looking at the newspaper in his hand, Frederick rubbed his forehead. Although the Vienna government has a news control act, this kind of solid international news is not restricted.
If you want to blame, you can only blame the Russian army for not being up to date, not even doing secrecy work, and making things known to everyone.
In the past, they were robbing and killing people, and they were secretly filmed in small movies; now they are forced to recruit strong men, and the news is flying all over the sky.
Being scolded is completely self-inflicted. If it were not limited by his identity and standpoint, Frederick would have personally written an article publicly criticizing the atrocities committed by the Russian army.
Although Shinra has enmity with France, it is mostly a historical issue. As the victor, except for the Duchy of Luxembourg in the west and the people of the Rhineland region, other people's feelings are not too deep.
It is natural to sympathize with the weak, especially when the Russians continue to act as demons, ordinary people's dissatisfaction with the tsarist government is even more intense.
As time went by, more and more media joined the ranks of criticizing the atrocities committed by the Russian army. Every day, celebrities in society write letters to the government, hoping that the Vienna government can fulfill its responsibilities as a great power and interfere with the inhumane behavior of the Russian army.
"Your Highness, King Carlos is here again."
The servant's voice sounded, pulling Frederick back from his contemplation to reality.
Recently, Carlos seems to be clocking in for work, going to the palace every day. In the beginning, Frederick received him quite well, but later he got really annoyed, so he just dealt with it symbolically.
It annoys normal people to talk about the same thing every time. But Carlos didn't seem to know it, and ran to the Vienna Palace persistently.
Well, this is also forced out. As King of France, Carlos had to do something while he was suffering at home.
If no effective measures can be found, it can only be a show. Regardless of the real effect, Carlos's perseverance has been widely recognized.
Although he was forced to go into exile overseas, the European media generally gave Carlos a high evaluation.
It became a raft for others to gain reputation. Franz's reputation has already reached its peak, so naturally he can ignore this trivial matter; Frederick can't do it. As the crown prince, he also needs to improve his reputation.
Everyone wants to be the protagonist, and no one wants to be a supporting role in the story. If it wasn't for the scruples that the influence would be bad, Frederick would have ordered Carlos to be expelled long ago.
Frowning, Frederick said helplessly, "Please come here!"
In any case, he is also a king, and the etiquette that should be there is still indispensable. As an old antique in the world of European monarchs, Franz avoided seeing and no one would say anything. If Frederick followed suit, he would be criticized by the aristocratic circle.
...
Looking at the impatient Frederick, Carlos spoke first: "Your Highness, the atrocities committed by the Russian army in France are a flagrant violation of the Treaty of Vienna, which the civilized world cannot tolerate.
As the head of the civilized world and the leader of the European world, the Holy Roman Empire should shoulder the responsibility of a great power and stop the Russians..."
Before he finished speaking, Frederick rolled his eyes: "Your Majesty, we have discussed these issues many times. Let me reiterate: The Holy Roman Empire has no intention of seeking hegemony, let alone has any obligations to your country.
As for the atrocities committed by the Russian army, I suggest that Your Majesty should discuss it with the Tsarist government. This is a matter between your two countries, and I believe you can handle it well. "
If it was necessary to foolishly interfere with the actions of the Russians for a few words of flattery, Frederick would be a fool.
From the standpoint of the Vienna government, the best choice is to let France and Russia fight each other. The more casualties the two countries suffer, the more stable Shinra's dominance will be.
If the Russians were able to destroy France, Frederick would not mind helping the Tsarist government reimburse military expenses, and even give an extra bonus.
Just pull France and think about it. Hatred has been planted, and it cannot be eliminated in a short time.
Long before the introduction of Russian troops to Paris, the Vienna government had made a plan, that is, to use the hands of the Russians to attack the resistance forces in France and kill their desire for revenge.
Judging from the current situation, the Russians have completed the task at a super level. Although the hatred remains, the object of the hatred has changed.
The French, who originally wanted to revive and seek revenge from the anti-French alliance, have now reduced their goal to: expel the Russians.
This is a good start, as long as this situation lasts for a few years, the French people
Just remember the Russian Empire as an enemy.
Carlos fought hard and said, "But Your Highness, tens of thousands of French people are living in dire straits, so you don't want to do something for them?"
After getting up and looking out the window, Frederick replied indifferently: "No!"
"Everyone has to pay the price for the choices they make. Since France launched the war of aggression, the fate of all this is doomed.
When a snow mountain collapses, no snowflake is innocent. Now the people of your country are just paying for their previous actions.
What the Russian army did, your country also did to other countries. The Italian states, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Rhineland were not spared from the scourge.
You can't do it when you are doing it to others, but now it's your turn to be unlucky, can't you? "
"Sarcasm", "sarcasm" without any disguise. Obviously, Frederick was impatient to the extreme, and he didn't even have the mind to go around in circles.
As for saying so, whether Carlos can accept it is out of his consideration. Anyway, Frederick has only one idea now, and that is to send Carlos away as soon as possible, so as not to cause trouble for himself.
The method is indeed a bit clumsy, but the effect is very obvious. I saw that Carlos was so angry that his face was blue and purple, as if he might explode at any time.
However, Carlos, who grew up from setbacks, quickly realized the problem and quickly restrained his emotions.
"Your Highness, you are too paranoid. It was the Napoleonic government that launched the war, and the capitalists were behind the scenes. Ordinary people have no chance to choose.
They were tricked into the chariot. Like Belgium, Sardinia and other countries, we are all victims of war.
By now..."
Frederick, who had no intention of participating in the quarrel, immediately interrupted: "Your Majesty, there is no point in arguing with me here.
Unless you can convince the people of Shinra in Luxembourg and the Rhineland to give up their hatred for you, it is impossible for us to support your country.
Instead of wasting time here, you might as well think about how to deal with the aftermath. "
...