Chapter 619 Paris Conference on the Brink of Bankruptcy

As the world's largest import and export trade country, Britain can be said to be the biggest victim of this economic crisis.

The domestic strike has not subsided, and the international market has shrunk, resulting in a rapid decline in export volume, a sharp rise in unemployment, and aggravation of social conflicts.

In order to quell domestic conflicts and divert public attention, the British Parliament decided to hold an early general election.

There is no doubt that the Liberal Party, led by Gerston, lost the general election and was replaced by the Conservative Party, led by Benjamin.

This seems to be the law of British politics, with the exception of the first Prime Minister, Earl Robert Warpole, who was re-elected for 20 years, the remaining term is basically no more than eight years.

(Note: British Prime Minister and Parliament are both five-year terms)

Prime Minister Benjamin, who once again lived in Downing Street, was happy except for the first day of his victory in the general election, but the rest were all troubles.

The troubled economy in the country has made Prime Minister Benjamin's hair a lot whiter.

Colonial Secretary Robert: "The domestic economy is already very dangerous, and in order to survive the crisis, we must find a bigger market for our goods.

I propose restarting the Persian war, having just gone through a refugee crisis, and right now Persia is at its weakest, which is very beneficial to our military operations. "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Arthur Balfour: "The government's finances are still sufficient to provide us with enough war money.

I think the Ethiopian war can be restarted at the same time as the Persian war.

In the last war we were only victorious in name and now most of Ethiopia is still out of our control.

In recent years, the Austrians have continued to infiltrate the Ethiopian region. If we don't act fast, we might wake up that morning and Ethiopia will plant the Austrian flag.

Not just Ethiopia, but the whole of East Africa is at risk. If we do not act quickly, France and Austria will not be polite. "

Admiralty Secretary John Vassil: "Not just in East Africa, but in Asia. The French are expanding into Indochina and are about to border India.

We must take the preemptive occupation of the Konbang Dynasty, which is the gateway to India. If it falls into the hands of the French, the consequences will be disastrous. "

(Note: Myanmar is in the period of the Ya dynasty, which is called by the West: the Gongbang dynasty)

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Prime Minister Benjamin is known as the vindicator of colonialism, and it is not surprising that there is a group of war-fighting factions in the cabinet. The huge colonial empire of the British was also shot down with one knife and one shot, and the main war faction and the colonial faction have never separated.

For Britain, it is impossible to survive the economic crisis by tapping domestic demand.

The size of the local population determines the upper limit of the British local market. This means that to survive the economic crisis, we must rely on external markets.

Relying on the vast colony, it is not difficult for the British to get out of the economic crisis, but it will take time.

If you want to get through the economic crisis in the short term, you can only start a war and pass the crisis on.

Foreign Secretary Edward: "Stop. I admit that everyone has a point, and it is something that Britain urgently needs to solve at the moment, but reality does not allow it.

Not to mention launching multiple wars at the same time, whether our national strength can support it, the diplomatic troubles alone are enough to exhaust us.

If we don't want to see European countries hold us back together, we must have a sequence. Fighting on multiple fronts has no value other than increasing risk and stress. "

The driving force that drives the British to wage war has always been interest. Everyone knows that it is impossible for the London government to launch multiple wars at the same time, and it is still proposed.

Behind this, all parties are playing games, and the military, political officials, and capitalists are all involved.

The campaign that was launched first was not just "first benefit", but also determined the importance of the area in the eyes of the London government.

Colonial Minister Robert: "I think it is better to restart the Persian war first. The situation in the Persian region is the most complicated, and it also involves Russia and Austria.

The Russian Empire is now being held back by the Commonwealth of Pubo, and it is unable to intervene in the Persian region for a short time, but Austria is different, and their power has penetrated into the Persian Gulf.

Although their temporary target is the Ottomans, this does not mean that they have no ambitions for the Persian region.

Now the Persian government is doing everything possible to win over the major powers. If we do not raise our vigilance, maybe one day the Austrians will expand their power to the Persian region.

Open the map and know that once the Ottoman Empire collapses, the entire east coast of the Mediterranean will become part of Austria, and the Persian region will directly border Austria.

If the Persian region cannot be taken as a barrier in advance, then the pressure on India will be great. "

Admiralty John Vassil objected: "Sir Robert, you are exaggerating.

We already have an absolute advantage in Persia, and unless the Ottoman Empire collapses tomorrow, the Austrians will not be able to compete with us at all.

Judging from the current situation, the Ottoman Empire can last at least another twenty years. If they complete internal reforms, they can even exist forever.

On the contrary, the threat of the Indochina Peninsula is even greater. The Gongbang Dynasty has completely declined, and it cannot stop the French troops. "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Arthur Balfour: "Don't take it so seriously, it's not that tomorrow we will have a war with France and Austria.

Now our three countries are still allies, without enough interests, they will not come to stimulate our nerves

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The most important thing at the moment is to get through the economic crisis. It is best for everyone to think about the problem more economically.

Since the passage of the Suez Canal, East-West trade has grown rapidly. At present, nearly 40% of the ships in European foreign trade pass through the Suez Canal.

This golden waterway has affected Britain's economic lifeline. We didn't pay enough attention and let control of the Suez Canal fall entirely into Fao's hands.

Of course, this is the responsibility of the predecessors, but the consequences have to be borne by us.

France and Austria regard the Suez Canal as the lifeblood, and it is impossible for us to intervene. Now only a roundabout strategy can be adopted to increase its influence in the Red Sea Strait.

In recent years, the French have expanded to Sudan and Austria has expanded to Ethiopia. The two sides have reached a tacit understanding to jointly squeeze our sphere of influence.

If this situation is allowed to continue, there will be no place for us in East Africa sooner or later. Even if the advantage of the navy is used, the land around the port will be reserved at most.

Just like the current Cape of Good Hope, it seems to be in our hands, and as long as it turns against the Austrians, it may fall at any time. "

"Your Excellency, this joke is not funny at all. The fact that France and Austria can truly unite is the biggest joke of the century.

Unless one of them gives up hegemony on the European continent, it is impossible for the two countries to truly unite, and now they regard each other as the biggest enemy! ' retorted Colonial Secretary Robert

Giving up hegemony on the European continent is easy to say, but why should people believe it?

Unless the strength to compete for hegemony is lost, the verbal promises cannot be believed at all.

Unless one of the French and Austrian countries falls, this struggle for European hegemony will continue.

Now that the two countries can coexist peacefully, it is because the two sides seem to be of equal strength, and there are third, fourth, and fifth parties. No one wants to provoke a war and let others take advantage of it.

Foreign Secretary Edward: "Sir Robert, there is a real possibility of a union between France and Austria. As long as the interests are in place, nothing will not happen."

"Sir Edward, I am not saying that it is impossible for the two countries to unite, but the current international situation makes it impossible for the two countries to unite.

The seemingly friendly relations between France and Austria are actually full of contradictions. Provoking a Fao conflict is not difficult if we want to. ' explained Colonial Secretary Robert

"No, Sir Robert. We are looking for a situation in which Fao is friendly on the surface and hostile on the inside.

It is not in our interest to provoke a French-Austrian conflict, which in turn triggers a continental war and disrupts the balance of the European continent. So this option doesn't exist at all.

We have seen the importance of the Suez Canal, and France and Austria can also see it, even earlier.

In the past ten years, we have been trying to take a stake in the Canal Company, but all of them have been rejected, which is enough to explain the problem.

If we don't act, for the dominance of the Suez Canal, there is a real possibility that France and Austria will join forces and squeeze us out of East Africa.

This is not without precedent. France and Austria have united before, and we were almost pushed out of the Mediterranean. ' warned Foreign Secretary Edward

This is the most troublesome. On the one hand, the conflict between France and Austria must be avoided to prevent the two countries from coming together;

From the British standpoint, whoever won the war between France and Austria was a disaster. The current three-legged confrontation is actually the most suitable for the continental balance strategy.

Benjamin interrupted everyone's quarrel: "Everyone, everyone can't convince each other, so let's vote! There is no way to quarrel like this, time waits for no one."

The seemingly muddled approach actually shows its own position. There is significantly more support for restarting the Ethiopian war, dictated by overseas trade.

Expansion in East Africa can expand Britain's influence in the Red Sea region and increase its say in the Suez issue.

In case one day and Fao turned their faces, they still have the qualifications to overturn the table, so as not to be caught in the neck.

This is probably the most efficient London government has ever seen, with the cabinet taking just one day from asking questions to making decisions.

Under normal circumstances, it takes at least a few months to start a war, and it is normal to argue for three or five years without any results.

This time is obviously an exception. The economic crisis waits for no one. The cabinet quickly reached an agreement and the Congress immediately submitted the bill.

Needless to say, it is naturally the fastest speed to pass. Without the need for the government to do the work of the legislators, the capitalists have long been impatient.

The earlier the war is launched, the earlier the economic crisis can be overcome.

The resignation of the previous government was largely due to Gerston's proposition: after the sphere of influence was divided through the Paris Conference, a colonial war could be launched.

There is no international pressure to do this, but the Paris conference cannot be over in one or two days. The economic crisis has broken out, and the capitalists can't wait that long.

To a certain extent, they were also pitted by Franz. If the Vienna government hadn't taken the initiative to detonate the crisis, the economic crisis would not have erupted so quickly.

Politicians must also have integrity, especially after taking office, their political stance cannot be changed at will. Changes in day and night will not only affect the prestige of the government, but also disgust the people.

The Gerston government made a mistake of judgment and put forward the political proposition of colonial expansion after the Paris Conference before the outbreak of the economic crisis.

itself

There is no problem, and it has also been recognized by all walks of life in China. Unfortunately, bad luck, the economic crisis broke out soon after it was proposed.

In order to get through the economic crisis as soon as possible, it is necessary to start a war with the outside world, and then only a new government can be used.

Benjamin's cabinet is a bunch of war-fighting factions. It's not that these people are the main wars, but the reality requires them to be the main wars.

On November 28, 1876, the British Parliament passed the "Restart the Ethiopian War" motion.

International public opinion was in an uproar and condemned the British. The British approach is also a heavy blow to the ongoing Paris conference.

The world is restless again. Since the British can use the excuse of not signing a treaty to launch a colonial war abroad during the Paris Conference, other European countries can also conduct colonial expansion abroad during the Paris Conference.

Originally, everyone wanted to negotiate, demarcate their respective spheres of influence, and carve up the remaining unclaimed land, but now they have returned to the era of grabbing by strength.