Chapter 504 A New Page

It didn't take long for William I to agree to the plan. Prussia's wealth is limited, and there is no bargaining chip that can be used to make transactions. Now all the cheques are empty, can you fill in the numbers a little bigger?

The international situation is ever-changing. A few years ago, Britain and France were still fully supporting Prussia to fight against Russia.

It's not that William I didn't want to prevent this from happening, it was really in the face of interests, and he couldn't stop it at all.

The fallen Russian Empire, no longer a rival of Britain and France, can naturally play happily together.

In the next Prussian-Russian war, even if Britain and France will stand on their side, the support will not be as strong as the last time, and they can only rely on their own efforts to win the war.

The Russians are a lesson from the past. During the Russian-Prussian War, Austria no longer supported them unconditionally, and the tsarist government, which had not adjusted its mentality, paid a heavy price for this.

The increasingly cold Russian-Austrian relationship was actually the result of the Tsarist government's dissatisfaction with the Vienna government's reserved support for the Russian-Prussian War.

The Tsarist government was angry, and the Vienna government was also uncomfortable. In the eyes of the Vienna government, it has done enough, fully fulfilled its ally obligations, and even paid beyond the scope of the covenant, and it has to be complained by the Russians.

Both sides thought about the problem from their own standpoint, and the unsolvable knot became a hurdle between the Russian-Austrian alliance. The post-war relationship between the two countries has not been restored as ever, which is proof.

As a bystander, William I can think calmly. But when it was their turn, it was different. Britain and France made it clear that they were only using them as pawns.

After the blow to the Russians, all support came to an abrupt end. The London government once wanted to support Prussia to check and balance the two countries, but after weighing the pros and cons, it was not implemented in the end.

In the final analysis, it is still because of interests that continue to support the Kingdom of Prussia. The price the British have to pay is too high, the benefits they can get are too small, and they have to face the fierce backlash from France and Austria.

Compared with the British, the French are more hateful, and they are still plotting the Rhineland. If it weren't for the sudden annexation of the Italian region by the French, which caused panic in European countries and made the Paris government dare not act rashly, the Rhineland region might have changed hands.

In the absence of annexation of the German Federal Empire, the Rhineland region became the heart disease of the Kingdom of Prussia. William I was always on guard, afraid that the French would swallow it regardless.

In order to get out of the predicament, William I repeatedly proposed to join the German Federal Empire. Undoubtedly, it was strongly resisted by Hanover.

How could one not be vigilant about the dove occupying the magpie's nest?

The size of the Kingdom of Prussia is much larger than that of the German Federal Empire. To put it nicely, it is to join in. In other words, it is to annex the German Federal Empire.

The text is not good, the martial arts is even less bad. If the Berlin government wants to attack the German Federal Empire, Austria will definitely not agree. Once the action is strong, the Austro-Prussian war will break out.

That's absolutely the worst case, and at that point, the kingdom of Prussia is really all enemies.

While fighting with Austria and the German Confederation, there are also Russians who are dealing with downfalls. Maybe the Nordic Federation will have a shot at it, and maybe the French will come to join in the fun.

There is nothing to say in the face of interests, and no one can resist the temptation. The geographical location of the Kingdom of Prussia can be said to be one of the worst among the European powers, which determines that they must be cautious when expanding.

The Russian-Prussian War was a challenge and an opportunity for Prussia. If Prussia wants to grow and develop, the best choice is to step on the Russians, which was decided by the first Prussian War.

In recent years, the Berlin government has not been idle. Even if the government has no money in its pocket, they are trying to develop the economy. For example: using Anglo-French capital to build railways on newly occupied land, and even helping Poles build railways.

In order to raise funds for development, the Berlin government has also increased resource exports. The mineral resources of the Rhineland region were exported to France and the German Federal Empire.

Just relying on the export of industrial and commercial products and mineral resources, the Kingdom of Prussia achieved a trade surplus. Of course, the bigger reason for this is that the Kingdom of Poland provided a dumping market for Prussian industrial and commercial products.

Under normal circumstances, a country has a trade surplus and a large amount of capital flows in from the outside world, so there should be no shortage of money.

It is a pity that Prussia is an exception. These wealth have been used to pay off debts, and the economy has to be subject to the British and French.

In order to repay the debt, the Berlin government tried to reduce expenditures as much as possible. However, this does not include military spending. No matter how poor you are, you cannot have a poor army. Even now, Prussia's military spending has never been lower than 45% of its fiscal revenue.

In this context, it is not surprising that the Berlin government wants to take the bottom line and dismantle the Russian-Austrian alliance.

Only when the Russian Empire is completely overwhelmed can the Kingdom of Prussia have a stable international environment for development, and can it suppress military expenditures, develop the economy with peace of mind, and get rid of the debt crisis.

The splitting of the Russian-Austrian alliance was the first step to winning the war. William I was ready to start the war in advance. If the tsarist government completed the internal reform, the balance of the war would be completely tilted towards the Russians.

In the first Russian-Prussian War, Prussia won the war by virtue of transportation, and this advantage must be retained.

Even with the expansion, the Prussian and Polish kingdoms were nowhere near the size of the Russians, which meant they could finish the railroads first.

At present, the plan is progressing very smoothly. The progress of railway construction in Prussia is not at all.

It is comparable to the Russians.

Although Alexander II has worked very hard, Russia is too big, and the few thousand kilometers of railways are really not worth mentioning for this empire.

Strategically, the Russians need at least 300,000 kilometers of railways to get out of the traffic jam. Even if the territory in Asia is ignored, and only part of the territory in Europe is considered, it will take 150,000 kilometers to barely meet the demand.

In contrast, the Kingdom of Prussia is much better. Even if the Kingdom of Poland is added, they can build another 10,000 or 20,000 kilometers to meet the needs of the war.

Of course, there is still a long way to go to reach the level of the original space-time German Empire. Connecting the railway to every township, only the Germans have done it.

On a land area of ​​only 540,000 square kilometers, more than 60,000 kilometers of railways have been built, which can be said to be a must-see railway within five kilometers. The railway coverage set by the Germans was an unbreakable world record until the 21st century.

Of course, this particular situation is created by the times. After the automobile industry developed, many railways lost their economic value and withdrew from the stage of history.

The problems faced by traffic, Alexander II is also clear. The tragedy is that he wants to attract foreign investment in railways, but no one cares.

It is useless to give more favorable conditions. Austria's bundled railways have killed many capitalists. Many railway companies have been losing money for more than ten years. Who dares to jump into the giant pit of the Russians?

At present, the investment of British and French capital in the railways of the two countries is only the main road with economic value, and the branch railway is not touched at all.

Not to mention the Russian railway, even if the railway from St. Petersburg to Moscow is put out for tender, no railway company dares to take the risk.

This is not only an economic risk, but the most important thing is that everyone has doubts about the credibility of the tsarist government. If the railway is completed and the Tsarist government declares the railway to be state-owned, will everyone still lose their lives?

It is worth mentioning that the current Russian railways are still state-owned, and the high operating costs make private capital timid.

Once an Austrian railway company visited Russia, it was concluded that the overall operating cost of the Russian railway was three times that of the Austrian railway.

It's all winter's fault. Except for a few regions, the Russian Empire is a country of ice and snow. In this era of limited technology, the railway operation in winter is not only risky, but also the maintenance cost that needs to be paid will greatly increase.

The cost is high, but the key is that the land is sparsely populated and the economy is backward. Whether the flow of goods or passengers is insufficient, the income cannot meet the railway company's operation at all.

With no strings attached, who wants to risk building an unprofitable railway?

Unable to make a profit, private capital is unwilling to invest, and the responsibility for the construction of the Russian railway has fallen on the shoulders of the government. Naturally, the progress of this construction will be slow.

Even in the 21st century, Russia's transportation has nothing to do with convenience, the European part is still passable, and the Asian part of the passenger is still barely, and large-scale freight is still a problem.

Not to mention in this era, the total mileage of railways operated by the huge Russian Empire is less than 10,000 kilometers, specifically 7,876 kilometers, less than half of the Kingdom of Prussia.

Even less than the same period in history, these are the aftermath of the war. The tsarist government, which lacked financial resources, also delayed the construction of the railway.

...

Alexandrovich also arrived in London when William I was about to dig a foot in the wall. The oncoming strange smell and the gray sky made Alexandrovich frown.

London, known as the world's largest city, is actually such a scene, it is really disappointing.

The only pleasing scenery is probably the towering chimneys, the thick smoke rising into the sky, dancing in the wind, like a fairyland on earth.

Oh, these beauties can only be viewed from a distance, not to be played with. In case of choking to death, no one will be responsible.

London in this era is the best portrayal of the beauty of industry, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the leader of the smog world.

Alexandrovich was lucky, he didn't come in winter, otherwise he could feel the most lethal biochemical weapon of this era.

It's autumn, the weather in London is okay, the visibility is still a few hundred meters, and there will be no mass poisoning deaths.

Alexandrovich was greeted by the British Crown Prince Edward, and this was not the first time they had met. The two are also relatives, and the European royal family is one family. This statement is not wrong at all.

They have a common father-in-law, King Christian IX of Denmark, who is respected as the "European father-in-law".

Facts have once again proved that European royal families are not easy to mess with, even a small royal family can't hold back a strong enough family of relatives and friends.

The European royal family has a very good rule, that is, relatives belong to relatives, and wars belong to wars. Even if you fight to the death on the battlefield, you can still be friends in private... Friends, it should not be "relatives".

The relationship between the two has not affected the diplomacy of Britain and Russia. Aleksandrovich is better. He has begun to participate in government affairs and has some say in politics.

Edward was miserable, because he lived informally and at times so disrespectful that Queen Victoria had kept him from taking charge of any affairs concerning the actual state of affairs.

In other words, he is an empty crown prince. Apart from his noble status, there is no room for him to intervene in politics at all.

After a few polite greetings, the two left the noisy port in a carriage. It seems that at this moment, history has turned a new page.

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