Chapter 389

London, Prime Minister John Russell is very dissatisfied with the current situation in Europe.

The Paris government actually gave the Russians a loan. Although for the British, this amount is not too large, only a mere 100 million francs. But the political factors behind this are very terrifying.

It was agreed by everyone that Britain and France would work together to support the Kingdom of Prussia and the Russians to fight a proxy war.

Now on the battlefield, the Kingdom of Prussia has just experienced a crisis, and the French can't wait to get down.

Perhaps in the eyes of the Paris government, this is a timely stop loss in order to obtain a greater return. On the British side, Prime Minister John Russell could not tolerate it.

"The situation in Europe is deteriorating, France and Russia are moving closer, the position of the Paris government has changed, and they have the intention of joining forces with the Russians to carve up Prussia.

Perhaps an Austrian must be added. As long as Pharaohsken supports Austria’s annexation of the German Confederation, it will become the three countries of Russia, France, and Austria to carve up the European continent.

This is the worst case, and each of the three countries of Russia, France and Austria has the strength to challenge us. If they were to carve up Europe, it would be even more difficult to restrict.

For the strategic security of Britain, we must prevent this from happening. "

John Russell has a strong sense of crisis, which seems to be the commonality of the island nation and the source of their success.

Continental balance is a national policy of the London government. Now Europe still maintains a balance, but the three countries of Russia, France and Austria have become bigger and bigger, which has seriously threatened their hegemony.

Originally, the London government was prepared to suppress the Russians first, and then use the Italian issue to provoke the Fao conflict, so that they could contain each other on the European continent.

The plan will never change quickly, the conflict between France and Austria has not ignited, and the Russian Empire is about to break through the restrictions and take control of the Baltic Sea.

Foreign Minister Raislin analyzed: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, this time France and Russia moved closer together because the tsarist government made concessions first.

The Russians, who supported the French annexation of the Rhineland, were actually not reassured.

You must know that Austria, Belgium, Prussia, the German Confederation, Spain and other countries have an agreement. If one side encounters a French invasion, they will jointly defend.

Even if the Russians support the French, but Russia and Austria are still allied, the tsarist government can never send troops to help the French fight, right?

Nationalism is a double-edged sword. As long as we stir up nationalism in Germany, Vienna cannot sit back and watch the French annex the Rhineland.

There is also a joint defense treaty. Although the French are strong, the strength of Austria is also not weak. In addition to Spain, Belgium, the German Federation and other countries, the French have little chance of winning.

Napoleon III was not stupid and could not take risks without winning.

...

The three countries of Russia, France and Austria join forces to carve up the European continent. I think this possibility is almost zero. The first is the uneven distribution of spoils.

The Russians had too little to gain, and Austria could not give up the German region. After the Russians acquired the Commonwealth of Poland, their way forward was blocked by Austria.

Of course, the Tsarist government could expand into northern Europe if it wanted. But Sweden is not a soft persimmon, and it is impossible to succeed without paying a certain price.

Besides, the Russian-Prussian War was so difficult, how could the Russians still be able to attack Sweden? "

This is a real problem. Although the Russian Empire is strong, its exhaustion has already been revealed. If it was the Russian Empire before the Near Eastern War, the Kingdom of Prussia would have already received a lunch box.

The tsarist government did not rely on crowd tactics to kill Prussia. The main reason was that the government had no money. Increasing the number of troops on the front line also means increasing military spending.

Fighting on the Pod Plain, there are also rivers that can transport strategic materials. In theory, even if the tsarist government sends millions of troops, it can guarantee the supply of materials.

In the case of their own exhaustion, they will obviously suffer a big loss when they carve up the European continent with Fao.

It's just the Prussian region of Poland, as long as it is enough to defeat the Kingdom of Prussia, there is absolutely no need to take grain from the fire.

"No, Raislin. These are theoretical, you have to understand that the Russian Empire is a dictatorship. As long as the Tsar thinks it is feasible, it can become a reality.

We cannot treat rational inferences as czarist decisions. In fact, most Russian tsars were irrational.

Russia and Austria are all dictatorial governments. As long as the emperor makes a decision, they can form an alliance immediately. We cannot give them any chance to get closer. "

This is not Prime Minister John Russell's pessimism, but a national leader must take into account. For Great Britain, there is no need for any risk now, "steady" is the most important thing.

No matter what stage the Franco-Russian relationship has taken, there is nothing wrong with disrupting their relationship.

They acted as European scumbags, and half of the conflicts in Europe for a hundred years were provoked by them. Now it is time to perform.

...

The Berlin government is blocking it, the British are also sabotaging, and Franz can't be idle.

If someone is calculated, there will definitely be a counterattack. However, the loan contract has been signed, and naturally it cannot be torn up. Where to start the counterattack has become a real question.

Alexander II knew how to use civilized means and secretly calculated within the scope of the rules, and Franz naturally couldn't have broken the rules.

Conservatives who support the Russian Empire?

inappropriate!

This is because Russia's internal political cooperation is too deep, and it has no effect except to worsen the relationship between the two countries. Franz does not

I think this group of people can beat Alexander II.

Secretly support the Revolutionary Party?

This is even more unlikely. As an emperor, Franz and the Revolutionary Party were naturally in a hostile camp, and they could not do anything to help the enemy.

Moreover, the state of the Russian Empire is very bad, what if it is overthrown?

The decadent tsarist government was Austria's best ally, while the nascent Russia was Austria's greatest threat, a risk Franz dared not take.

To provoke relations between the Russians and European countries?

It seems that there is no use in doing so, and Franz is not required to shoot, and now the tsarist government has been honorably isolated.

...

After thinking hard, Franz finally came to a helpless conclusion: in the context of the Russian-Austrian alliance, the Russians could not be helped in a short time.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg proposed: "Your Majesty, the Tsarist government has requested that we help to modify a batch of breech rifles."

During the war, even the tsarist government attached great importance to weapons and equipment. After experiencing the power of the breech rifle for themselves, they also had to abandon the breech rifle.

Converting the front-loading rifle to a breech-loading rifle is naturally to save costs. In this respect, the Russian-Prussian war was not without its contribution, at least it taught the tsarist government to plan carefully.

Modifying hundreds of thousands of rifles is just a small business. If it weren't for the political significance of the arms trade, the foreign ministries of the two countries would not need to negotiate.

Franz thought for a while and said, "Well, let them talk to the capitalists, we don't interfere with free trade.

Send someone to sell the breech rifle production line to the Russians, and sell them the old refitted goods in our warehouse by the way.

Remember to tell the Russians that the power of the breech artillery is also more advantageous, and suggest that they purchase a batch of trials. "

It takes time to modify the muzzle-loading rifle, and the officers and soldiers on the front line can't wait. Of course, in this case, they can only buy it from Austria.

This is the bonus of selling arcane equipment to the tsarist government during the Near Eastern War. In addition to earning supporting service fees, when purchasing equipment, the Russians also had to choose Austria.

After the outbreak of the Prussian-Russian War, the tsarist government immediately placed an order with Austria to purchase strategic materials. The main reason was that everyone had the same standard system.

The road is paved, and Franz naturally cannot let the Russians get rid of the influence of arcane equipment in this weapons revolution, which is related to the future strategic layout.

In peaceful times, the Russians can naturally upgrade their weapons and equipment slowly, and the technical content of breech weapons is too high, and it will only take a few more years.

No major country is willing to be controlled by others for a long time in weapons and equipment. Alexander II was not a mediocre person either. If it wasn't for a lack of money, it is estimated that he would have already started the military-industrial system.

It is a pity that the Russians were unlucky. The last weapon upgrade encountered the Near Eastern War. In order to save time, arcane equipment has become the mainstream in the army.

This time, the weapons were updated, and the Russian-Prussian War was encountered again. The war will not wait for anyone, and Franz is ready to force the Russians to sell Arcane equipment again.

Want to get rid of restrictions, do you know that the Tsarist government has a million army? How much does it cost to change so many troops and replace the weapon production line?

If you don't have money, just keep using it. Anyway, in terms of cost, direct purchase of the arcane equipment system will not be much more expensive than independent research and development.

As for doing so, will it lose its independent research and development capabilities. This is not the concern of the Russian bureaucracy. It is better to think about how to make a fortune after thinking so much.

After two or three consecutive generations of the use of the Austrian military system, the Russian weapons research and development personnel are almost abolished. If you want to get rid of this situation in the future, you will have to retrain talents.

Franz understood why Alexander II had been upset with Austria all the time. No one would be happy with this kind of thing.

It is a pity that this is a conspiracy, just like his calculation of Austria. Knowing that it was a pit, Franz would also smash real money into it, and the same is true of the tsarist government now.

In order to ensure the independence of the military industry, it is impossible to disregard the needs of the front-line war, and let the soldiers take the backward front-mounted equipment and give the enemy the head, right?

This is really giving away the head. The breech rifle can be played on the stomach, while the front-loaded rifle can only play platoon tactics.

As long as you think about it, you will know how miserable you will be when you encounter it on the battlefield.

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg explained: "Your Majesty, we don't actually need to sell it, just delay the modification speed.

Recently, the Prussians have performed very well. Taking advantage of their weapons and equipment, they have repeatedly inflicted heavy losses on the Russian army in the field.

Although the Russians have the advantage of sea power and are constantly attacking the coastal areas of the Kingdom of Prussia, they are not prepared enough to expand the results. "

This is the core of the problem. In theory, as long as the Russian navy covers the landing of the army and blooms in all directions within the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Prussia will collapse within a few months.

However, the Tsarist government was not prepared. The navy did a good job in attacking the coast of the Kingdom of Prussia, but unfortunately the army did not keep up and expand the results.

The distance between Prussia and Russia is not far, and the cross-sea expedition cannot be called, but the necessary logistical supplies are still indispensable.

There is no doubt that the tsarist government does not have so many strategic materials now, or there is no way to transport so many strategic materials.

In order to supply the troops on the front lines, the tsarist government had to buy, buy, buy. It's not just the lack of productive capacity in the Russian Empire, but the most critical point is that the traffic is too bad.

The Russian-Polish region is one of their granaries, the grain of the St. Petersburg region

Most of the supply came from here. Now that the land is lost, the tsarist government will naturally have to transfer food from other regions.

The railway is not smooth, and it takes at least a month to transport materials from Ukraine and Moscow to the front line by horse-drawn carts and bullock carts.

This has to be saved by God. If it is winter, it will be even worse. It is possible to walk for two or three months. Such bad traffic not only increases the cost, but also limits the amount of material transportation.

The troops on the front line can also import strategic materials from Austria next door. But cross-sea combat is not enough. Even if the materials are imported from Austria, they must be transported in a large circle.

This is the Russian's own pot. If the navy is sent to attack the Prussian coastal areas at the beginning of the war, the rivers in Poland can also be used to transport materials imported from Austria.

Don't think about it now, most of Russian Poland has fallen into enemy hands. At this time, materials must be transported, either by land through the Belarusian region, or by sea in a large circle along the European continent.

Either way, the amount of material transportation is limited.

Originally, the Russians could also buy strategic materials from European countries, but unfortunately everyone did not buy the Russians' account. Nobody does their business unless they come up with real money.

Because of financial problems, the tsarist government had no way to buy supplies from various countries, which is why Alexander II was in a hurry to borrow money.

Only by solving the financial problems could they be able to raise enough strategic materials to take advantage of the navy.