Chapter 1109 The Tangled Tsar
The government is in action, and the people are not idle. The capital market is the fastest responder. The price of strategic materials in the futures market continues to rise.
One of the companies engaged in overseas trade counts as one, and all of them fall into doubt. Instead, the military industry sector has risen rapidly.
For their own benefit, the capitalists engaged in overseas trade moved quickly and launched a mighty anti-war campaign across Europe.
In particular, the small European countries, almost all of them participated, submitted petitions to the British and Austrian embassies abroad, calling on the two countries to calm down and solve the problem through negotiation.
It's a pity that it's useless, the chariots of Britain and Shinra have both started, and they can't stop if they want to stop.
It's not that Franz did not respect public opinion, on the contrary, it was because of public opinion that the war was waged. Although the voices of the people against the war are rising, the voices of the main war are even louder!
Apart from the group of people whose interests are damaged, only the idealists are left in the country who are anti-war. There is no doubt that the voices of these people are simply insignificant compared to the whole society.
There is no way, the British deer is too fat. If the British Empire is still at its peak, everyone can only hold back even if they have ambitions.
The reality is very cruel, the British missed the second industrial revolution, which directly led to their disadvantaged position in the international competition.
Originally, although everyone doubted the strength of the British, they were shocked by the prestige of the Royal Navy and did not dare to act rashly for a while.
However, as the British announced their withdrawal from the free trade system, they suddenly leaked their bottom line, and everyone suddenly found that the former world factory is now fading away.
Once the weak underbelly is exposed, it is obviously impossible to have the previous deterrent power.
There are still many smart people in this world. Franz can think of killing the British in numbers, and naturally some people can think of it.
With the advantage of industrial scale, Shinra can do it: for every warship built by the British, they will build two to compete with it.
The navy is a technical arm, but also a technological arm. No matter how elite the Royal Navy is, it is impossible to do one against two at sea.
At least when the performance of the warships of the two sides is almost the same, it is impossible to fight against one another.
Then the question arises. Why should the British be the boss when it is obvious that their comprehensive national strength is stronger?
This is not a nameless battle, and there are a lot of interests behind it. The biggest dividend is naturally currency hegemony, which is almost tied to world hegemony.
In the past ten or twenty years, the hegemonic position of the British has not been stable enough, and even the currency hegemony of the British pound has been taken away by Aegis.
But no matter how much you share, it's not as good as eating alone. No one can refuse the exclusive monetary hegemony that can kill the British.
Not only that, the British had the most fertile colonies in their hands, which was a great temptation for both the nobles and the commoners.
Turning over once is no joke. According to Franz the Great's consistent style, the most fertile land should be sealed out, and everyone can't help it.
Everyone is looking forward to the moon, and finally waited until the British Empire fell. If you don't act quickly, what will happen to the British people later on?
This is a precedent. The old Holy Roman Empire is a typical example of rebirth from ashes, and no one can guarantee that the British can't do it.
No matter how you look at it, Britain is now much stronger than the divided Shinra, and the difficulty of revival is much lower.
As long as they are fine-tuned internally and make up for the homework left behind in the second industrial revolution, they are still a great empire on which the sun never sets.
There is no need to crush the strength of Shinra, as long as the strength of the two sides is close, it is impossible for the Vienna government to launch a challenge that is doomed.
Maybe Britain will decline even more in the future, but everyone's patience is almost exhausted, and they are unwilling to wait any longer.
Moreover, the British will not sit still. If reform were really that simple, Campbell would not stop.
It is precisely because they have changed everything that can be changed, when it is time to "reform", they suddenly get stuck, and as a last resort, they want to suppress their competitors to consolidate their hegemony.
As a result, looking back, the competitors have become Big Macs. Not to mention suppressing competitors, it is not bad to not be suppressed by competitors.
Unwilling to surrender hegemony, the British are no exception. Driven by interests, the British Empire couldn't help but start the chariot.
St. Petersburg, Nicholas II has had an ominous premonition since the conflict between Shinra and Britain intensified.
Although he dreamed of provoking a war between Britain and Austria, in order to act as a fisherman and get the most from it.
But now is the wrong time! The Russian Empire was deeply mired in the Far East, and there was no time to distract himself until the Japanese were dealt with.
Not to mention that the fisherman has benefited, even the Far East battlefield needs the help of the Vienna government to be able to support it.
In this context, not to mention that the fisherman has benefited, it is lucky not to be affected by the pond fish.
When the war broke out between Britain and Shinra, the foreign trade of the whole of Europe would be affected, and the Russian Empire was no exception.
Nicholas II naturally wouldn't mind if it was just pure trade damage, in order to allow Shinra and Britain to fight.
The problem is that the logistics of the Russian army on the Far East battlefield are all transported from the European continent.
Except for a small number of them that were delivered to the Far East through Siberia, most of them were transferred by land and sea through the Far East Empire, and then handed over to the front-line troops through smuggling.
The war between Shinra and Britain broke out, and the sea line of communication was bound to be affected. In particular, the ships transporting strategic materials are the focus of mutual combat between the two sides.
Accidental injuries are inevitable. It's okay to meet the Shinra Navy on the way, and they won't detain their own ships. It would be a tragedy to encounter the Royal Navy.
Nicholas II did not think that his own face would be able to make the British open up. You must know that Britain and Japan are allies, and there has always been only hatred between Britain and Russia.
If the supplies are buckled on the way, the Russian officers and soldiers on the front line will be tragic. Without sufficient logistical supplies, they cannot fight a war.
Thinking of this, without any hesitation, Nicholas II immediately ordered: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent people to urge our previous orders, and at the same time increase orders from Shinra's major arms factories.
At all costs, we must also send at least a year's worth of strategic materials to the Far East before the outbreak of the war between the two countries. "
Don't be in a hurry, now is the time for no one. But any step too slow could lead to the failure of the war.
Fortunately, the smuggling network has been opened up. As long as the materials are sent to the Far East Empire, someone will take over and transport them to the front line. The tsarist government only needs to pay the money.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhailovich: "Your Majesty, will this be too hasty. A large amount of strategic materials are piled up in the Far East Empire, and there is also a need to prevent the Japanese from doing things, which can easily lead to changes."
This kind of worry is not superfluous, who offends many people! In recent decades, they have been plucking the wool of the Far Eastern Empire, and the seeds of hatred have long been planted.
The smuggling trade can be carried out unimpeded. In addition to the hope that the top officials of the Far East Empire hope that Japan and Russia will lose both, the more important thing is that the Shanxi merchants who only accept money are responsible for the transportation.
If it falls into the hands of nationalists, even if they don't give a lot of fire, they can't expect to be able to get to their destination safely.
You must know that the Japanese are not idle, they are carrying out anti-Russian propaganda day and night, throwing out the Russian propaganda department and strengthening at least a hundred streets.
Nicholas II shook his head and said, "I can't take care of that much anymore, and it will be too late in the evening. First, send the supplies to the Far Eastern Empire and entrust them to the Austrians to take care of them.
They have a good relationship with the Far East Empire. In order to avoid affecting the relationship between the two countries, the Far East government will not start with their goods.
As long as the Holy Roman Empire is not defeated in the battle for supremacy, no one dares to act rashly. "
It can be seen that Nicholas II is in a very contradictory mood now.
On the one hand, he needs the support of Shinra to win the ongoing Russo-Japanese War; on the other hand, he hopes that Shinra will be defeated. Only when Shinra is finished can the Russian Empire return to the center of the world.
No matter how contradictory they are in their hearts, politically, the Vienna government still needs to stand together. The golden signboard of the Russian-Austrian alliance cannot be lost just like that.
As for the British wooing, Nicholas II never took it seriously. The hatred between Britain and Russia was so deep that even the tsar did not dare to give up easily.
To form an alliance with an enemy and turn around to fight an ally, then you don't even have to think about it. If you really want to do that, you have to change the tsar.
There is only one Peter III, and there will always be only one. The same loss, the Russians will not eat a second time.
Army Minister Yevgeny said: "Your Majesty, the enemy has increased the density of patrols in the air. In order to ensure the safety of the airship, we must increase the escort.
The War Department hopes to increase its purchase of aircraft to gain air supremacy in the Far East. "
...