Chapter 410 Arms Race

The situation in Europe is chaotic, how could it be possible without the United Kingdom? The Fao conflict was not provoked, and the London government was very disappointed.

But Prime Minister John Russell is not worried, there are two. Whatever excuse the French have, it's a fact that they put their hands in Austria's back garden.

The seeds of conflict between the two countries had been planted, and for the British, that was enough. Provoking the French-Austrian relationship and pitting them against each other is the best option for the UK's interests.

If it really makes them fight, it will not be a good thing. Or any war that upsets the balance of Europe, the London government does not want to see.

Especially at the time when the Russian Empire was about to decline, when a war broke out between France and Austria, whoever won the victory would be the new hegemon of the European continent.

Any European hegemon is the greatest enemy of the British, and does not need any reason. The national policy of the London government has always been this way.

At No. 10 Downing Street, Foreign Secretary Raislin walked into the conference room with a smile on his face. It could be seen that he was in a good mood.

John Russell said flatly: "Everything is here, so the meeting begins. Sir Raislin, what's the good news?"

Foreign Minister Raislin replied with a smile: "We just received news that the Tsarist government intends to let the three Nordic countries unify."

This is something the London government has been trying to do in recent years, but has not done it. The unification of the three Nordic countries is definitely not a good thing for the Russian Empire.

As long as great power is exported to them, the unified Northern Europe is destined to stand on the opposite side of the Russians. Who gave them a glorious history?

Open the history book and see that large swathes of territory such as Finland and the Baltic Sea were once their territory, but now they are occupied by the Russians. Are the radicals still sitting there?

Of course, the population of the three Nordic countries is not large, and it is still far from threatening the Russian Empire, but it is still possible to contain part of the energy of the Russians.

This is also the reason why the British are willing to support them. Anyway, no matter how northern Europe develops, it will not affect the interests of Britain.

Under normal circumstances, the Russians would not allow Nordic unification. Doing so now means that the Russians are running out of steam and have to make compromises.

John Russell asked uncertainly: "Could it be that the Russians want to win over Sweden and Norway to go to war with the Prussians and relieve their pressure on the battlefield?"

Foreign Secretary Raislin replied: "This is the ideal situation, in fact the Tsarist government should know very well that it is almost impossible for this to happen.

The Berlin government has made concessions, pledging to withdraw from Jutland, and its territorial claim to Denmark is limited to two German duchies.

For Sweden, that's enough. If the two German states were also incorporated, Denmark would have too much say, and they would not be able to gain dominance.

The tsarist government just wants to stabilize Sweden now, otherwise they will really be unable to hold on to the resurgence of the northern border. It can be initially judged that the Russians are now exhausted. "

The Russians are exhausted, and this is the greatest good news. After this wave, the Russians will not be able to trouble them for decades to come.

If the latter plan goes well, it may be possible to solve this threat once and for all.

Prime Minister John Russell made a decision without hesitation: "Unleash our greatest influence and deal the fatal blow to the Russians.

Increase aid to Prussia, let the Ottoman Empire join the war as soon as possible, and the Far East will also be launched.

If Sweden could stab the Russians, the plan would be perfect. "

Obviously, John Russell's expectations for Sweden's participation in the war are not high. If the Russians continue to oppose the merger of the three Nordic countries, the chances of the Swedes stabbing the Russians are very high.

It is now almost impossible, the Swedish government has to take into account the feelings of the Danes. Now Denmark and the Russians are allies, and their enemy is the Kingdom of Prussia, which makes it impossible for Sweden to join forces with the Prussians.

...

"Since the implementation of the two-power standard, the Royal Navy has been severely challenged. At present, our naval military expenditure is seriously insufficient, and it is no longer able to suppress both France and Austria at the same time.

Not long ago, the Paris government allocated another 120 million francs for shipbuilding. The specific shipbuilding plan is still unclear. Obviously, this is based on the standards of our two powers.

The Austrians have not responded yet, but according to past practice, the Vienna government will refer to 80 to 90 percent of the French man-made ship funding.

Our shipbuilding budget for this year has been exhausted. To maintain the current advantage, another 10 million pounds must be allocated. ' said Admiral Edward Edward

The 10 million pounds of this era is not the 10 million pounds of later generations. There are no more than ten countries in the world whose annual fiscal revenue can exceed 10 million pounds.

For those who dare to spend so much money on shipbuilding in one breath, there should be no second party other than the British Royal Navy.

France and Austria can indeed get this money, but these two are land-power countries, and they must also take into account the army while developing the navy.

If it weren't for the British clamoring for the two-power standard, the Paris government would not have suddenly increased the funding for shipbuilding and detonated this arms race.

In this era, the Fao Navy added up, the total tonnage was almost the same as that of the Royal Navy, and the number of ironclads was even more.

Facing the clamor of the British, Napoleon III felt insulted, and even Franz of Vienna could not stand such provocation.

Oh, this is not just their personal feelings, but more precisely the common feelings of the people of the two countries.

Everyone is saving face, and civil radical groups are clamoring to catch up with the Royal Navy. Then there is no need to say, arms race!

It just so happened that Napoleon III needed to divert the attention of the people, lest they keep staring at the broken affairs of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Napoleon III provoked an arms race, and that was justified. In the last ten years, the French economy has embarked on a fast-track, and last year's fiscal revenue exceeded that of the British by more than 18 million pounds. (Including the Kingdom of Sardinia)

Of course, this is only local revenue. If you add colonies, the British are even more powerful. You must know that India's fiscal revenue alone is as high as more than 50 million pounds. The pride of the British can be seen in general.

However, Napoleon III is not cowardly, and he is not prepared to let the French navy surpass the Royal Navy, as long as the French and Austrian navies add up and break the two-strong standard that the British clamor for.

Behind the anger, there is also an international political status. Once the Royal Navy's two-strength standard was achieved, the British gained absolute dominance in overseas affairs.

This is what France and Austria cannot tolerate. The French navy is the second in the world, and the arrogant Parisians petition every day. This early bird, Napoleon III, must be.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Agarwal glared at Edward fiercely, and he had already greeted his family in his heart.

In his opinion, the Admiralty is a typical example of not being at home and not knowing that diesel, rice, oil and salt are expensive. "Two strong standards" looks very tempting, in fact, this is nothing to look for excitement.

The financial resources of the British are indeed the strongest in the world, but France and Austria are not weak either, and there is no huge disparity in their strength.

Just like the two strong standards that the British in the original time and space were clamoring for, they were also challenged, and even more severe.

Any of France and Austria has the potential to challenge the hegemony of the Royal Navy. If it were not for the development of the army, the maritime hegemony of the Royal Navy would have long been unstable.

Agarwal said with a gloomy face: "No, this year's budget has long been determined, and now there is a sudden increase of 10 million pounds in the budget. The Ministry of Finance does not have this money. If you want funds, you can persuade Congress yourself!"

10 million pounds is indeed a lot, but for the London government, it is actually squeezed out. Apparently Agarwal was not ready to save money and raise money for the Navy.

Admiral Edward said angrily: "The Royal Navy is related to the national fortune of Britain. If we cannot guarantee absolute superiority, once France and Austria have caught up, we will regret it!"

There are not so many reasons. The main purpose of the Navy's "two power standards" is for funding. The threat of the French and Austrian navies is actually still 108,000 miles away.

Everyone is a colonial empire, the navies are mostly scattered around the world, and all regions are suppressed by the Royal Navy, where can there be any threat.

Even if the Fao navy joined forces, in fact, most of them were not the opponents of the Royal Navy. The problem of cooperation between the navies of the two countries on the battlefield cannot be solved. In the case of fighting each other, they are not opponents of the Royal Navy at all.

Minister of Finance Agarwal did not buy it and said, "So you ask Congress to ask for money! Now the Ministry of Finance does not have this budget. To temporarily increase the huge budget, it must be approved by Congress."

The Admiralty alone would not be so easy to persuade Congress without the support of the Cabinet. Even if they were sensible and emotional, the warships built by the French would have been in service by the time they persuaded the uncles in Congress to agree.

Just as Edward was about to defend himself, Prime Minister John Russell stopped him. Competing for funds is a common occurrence. Basically, the Ministry of Finance has to confront various departments once a year.

There was nothing wrong with Agarwal's actions, he was doing exactly what was prescribed. The admiralty's temporary budget increase is bound to go to Congress. The Treasury Department's reluctance to ask Congress for funding is also in line with the regulations.

"On the issue of increasing the funding for shipbuilding, the Admiralty will submit a proposal to Congress, and the time will be set for next Monday, and we will support the proposal.

Sir Edward, the Admiralty must be well prepared to be questioned by MPs, any questions? "John Russell said

This is a necessary process. As long as Congress agrees to increase the budget, then the Treasury Department will either make loans, issue bonds, or raise taxes, which can always solve the funding problem.

The arms race has only just begun, and the London government has yet to feel the pressure. In the later stage, they will not be so easy.

Lord Admiral Edward replied: "No!"

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