Chapter 451 The Poorest Czar

Time is like an arrow, and the sun and the moon are like shuttles. After so many years of hard work, Austria has become the second colonial empire in the world, covering six continents and seven oceans.

I have to be thankful that there is no satellite map in this era, otherwise, if someone sees the strategic layout of Austria, I am afraid it will immediately cause an uproar.

In the Americas, Austria occupies China and the United States, dividing North and South America into two. The Panama Canal, which was once famous in time and space, has become a distant prospect.

Unless one day, Austria is strong enough to meet all challenges, or the United States is divided again and is not a threat at all, otherwise this canal will not be considered.

The African continent is even more terrifying. If anyone pays attention, they will find that Austria has divided the colonies of various countries so that they cannot be connected together.

Of course, the area of ​​North Africa for the French is still very large, but after seeing the area of ​​the desert, it is necessary to change this statement.

A large area is a good thing, but the situation of a large desert has changed. In addition to the coastal areas where people can live, there are only a few oases that are valuable in this vast desert.

Mineral resources may exist, but they are worthless on the African continent, and even less valuable if they are under the sand.

The British South Africa region, in fact, is already in jeopardy. It didn't take this place, it was just that Franz didn't want to face the British so early.

Another French colony, Egypt, looks good, but is actually in danger. If the Sudan area cannot be captured as soon as possible and the two places are connected together, they will be surrounded by Britain and Austria.

From a purely military analysis, this is simply wanting to swallow the African continent.

In fact, this is just an idealistic fantasy. The African continent has now gathered the forces of the five countries of Britain, France, Austria, Spain and Portugal. How can they be easily expelled?

Moreover, Austria does not have such a population to fill this huge hole, and Franz is still very afraid of the matter of the European emperor becoming an African chief.

In the original time and space, there were many Africans who claimed to be French, but only after tanning in Africa did they become African chiefs.

Whether it's true or false, just this possibility makes Franz dare not mess around.

In the context of the localization policy, if the population of the African continent exceeds that of the mainland, they are crying and shouting that they want to move the capital, which will be a headache.

Well, these are small problems, and Franz is unlikely to encounter them anyway. The main reason is that the strength is not enough, and Tailang will have an accident.

Not to mention the European continent. If it hadn't decisively created conflicts and provoked the Prussian-Russian war behind the scenes, now Austria's defense pressure would be enough to collapse.

No way, the geographical location makes Austria, but also limits Austria.

If it weren't for Franz's flexible diplomatic measures to divide the relationship between the powers, Austria would have long been the target of public criticism.

The current situation in Europe can be said to have been created by Franz. There are some twists and turns, but generally speaking, it is still within the scope of the plan.

The strategy of occupying Russia in the east, blocking France in the west, and suppressing Prussia in the middle is a strategy that seems very cool.

Although the "Austrian threat theory" has not become the mainstream of public opinion, it has appeared in the minds of many politicians. There is no outbreak now, that is the French are too active.

After all, the ancestors of the Habsburg dynasty used to be more brilliant than they are now. As a result, the unification of the German region has not been achieved, and now Franz has not unified the German region, which is still within the scope of everyone's acceptance.

It is estimated that many people are thinking that another melee in the German region will break out the Habsburg dynasty.

Perhaps it was the prestige of the Napoleonic era that created the arrogant French, who thought they were the number one army in the world, and they were not even convinced by the Russian Empire in its heyday, let alone Austria.

Although there is a lot of hatred in France, they are lucky! Spain has tossed and declined, and now a civil war is about to break out for the battle for the throne.

There is no threat from the rear, and they are not afraid to face any country alone. Napoleon III naturally has the confidence to toss.

Of course, this is an advantage and a disadvantage. That is, France's road of expansion is difficult to follow, and the French people's dream of a great power is difficult to satisfy.

Napoleon III is not too young, but his son is still young, and now the pace of expansion is accelerated, that is, Napoleon III is in a hurry.

If he can't support his son to come to power, then he must first build a great French empire, otherwise France will be in danger, or the throne of the Bonaparte family will be in danger.

This is also the reason why France and Austria are able to form an alliance. With Franz, the promoter, hyping up public opinion, the spirit of the French people has always been very excited.

The desire for a great power has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and Napoleon III can still be suppressed, but the next generation may not.

In this case, either achieve this goal; or suppress it and change everyone's ideas.

There is no doubt that the second rule cannot be done. Even if Napoleon III wanted to do it, the capitalists would not agree to those whose interests were damaged in his reforms.

If the expansion is successful, the increased market can satisfy the capitalists; if the expansion fails, it is time to trigger political changes. If you replace it with a government of your own, you can also get a lot of benefits.

This is where conspiracy is more terrifying than conspiracy. Now the internal contradictions in France are also very serious. The best way to alleviate internal contradictions is to expand.

Use the plundered wealth to make up for the losses of the losers in the reform. All modern reforms that have succeeded are basically the same

way.

After the British Revolution, the colonial expansion was carried out, and the colonies were used to solve internal conflicts;

When Austria reformed, it also relied on external expansion to resolve internal conflicts;

The same is true of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was not until the end of the Russian-Prussian War that the contradictions between the capitalists and the Junkers aristocracy were alleviated.

The stability of France now is also based on external expansion. If the government hadn't opened up so many colonies, the capitalists who had lost their interests would have rebelled long ago.

Alexander II, who was in the process of reforming, now has the same problem. The Russian Empire has no shortage of land, but those who have lost interest in the reforms still need to be compensated.

Money, Alexander II is unable to give. Many people in the original time and space criticized Alexander II's incomplete reform, which led to the demise of the Russian Empire. In fact, there was no way. He really tried his best.

As a spokesperson for the interests of the noble class, you have to use a knife against your own class. If the reform is complete, you don't need to think about the future. The tsar will be replaced before the reform is completed.

Even so, the Russians also expanded in Central Asia, the Far East, and the Near East, relying on foreign plunder to ease internal conflicts.

Now that the Russian Empire has lost the opportunity to expand, the internal contradictions have become more intense. Alexander II's reforms would not have been possible without a major purge.

In St. Petersburg, Alexander II once again replaced the top government. There is no way, three ministers have been assassinated successively, and the rest have become cowards, and he can only choose to replace them.

There are always hot-blooded men in any country, and the reformists who have come to power now are a group of people who are willing to throw their blood for the Russian Empire.

Alexander II knew the art of compromise, his reforms were not radical, and many policies took care of the interests of the nobility.

On land distribution, he again made concessions. Aristocrats who refuse to buy land do not do any coercion, and the government pays for peasants to open up wasteland.

The Russian Empire had land, it just didn't develop it. Not to mention that the land in Europe has not been developed, even the Siberian plain can actually accommodate tens of millions of people, and farms have been developed in the Far East in later generations.

Anyway, farmers at the bottom don't mind being remote, as long as the government is willing to pay to help them open up wasteland, everyone doesn't mind suffering.

With this policy change, the resistance of the nobles was suddenly weakened a lot. In the era of mechanized agriculture, the demand for labor is not so great.

In return, the purse of the tsarist government quickly dried up. Government-funded support requires real money, at least farm tools, seeds, and, incidentally, are responsible for managing meals.

The peasants who have just been freed are very poor, and the cost of land reclamation can only be paid by the government. This money is an interest-free loan from the government to the people, and it will be repaid in the future, but that is the future.

Now there are tens of millions of people pointing to the tsarist government to eat? Financial problems have become the biggest problem for the government of Alexander II.

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