Chapter 651 Risk Sharing

London is still foggy. Stepping into this fantastic city again, William I was in a very different mood.

The relationship between the British and British royal families is still good. The two sides are in-laws, and the son of William I married Queen Victoria's daughter.

William I's visit was naturally received by the British royal family with a high standard of reception. However, the enthusiasm of the British did not make William I feel any warmth.

No way, there were no high-level officials of the British government in the reception crowd. There is no doubt that the London government did not take his arrival very seriously.

This is a common method used in diplomacy to express political positions and exert pressure, but it is still very effective.

Different from the first Prussian-Russian War, the London government contributed money and efforts, in order to offend the Russians to block the Baltic Sea, laying the foundation for Prussia to win the war.

The Russian Empire, now in decline, could no longer threaten Britain's interests. Instead, there are two new threats from Fao, and it is no longer necessary to continue to suppress Russia.

Perhaps in the eyes of the London government, the Russian-Austrian alliance has broken down. Keeping the Russian Empire to maintain a certain strength can contain part of Austria's power behind it, preventing them from fully investing in the European hegemony, which is conducive to maintaining the balance of the European continent.

The Pope Federation wanted to gain the support of the British in the war. There was no international situation to take advantage of, and it could only speak with interests.

The welcome banquet was held as normal, and the banquet was attended by a group of nobles, and the high-level British government still did not appear.

A Cabinet meeting is taking place in the Downing Street Prime Minister's Residence. It's not that the London government is inefficient, it's mainly that William I came too quickly.

When the Queen does nothing, the British cabinet has a lot of power, and the workload is naturally very large.

The new round of the Prussian-Russian war, the London government does attach great importance to it, but after all, it has not yet started.

War is no child's play. According to normal circumstances, it is normal to drag on for a few months, or a year or two.

Prime Minister Benjamin: "William I has arrived, and the Crown Prince of Russia will arrive next month, and we need to make a choice now.

For the sake of Britain, I hope that you will analyze rationally and obtain the greatest benefit for the Empire. "

The outcome of the Russian-Prussian War this time is not as crucial to the London government as it was the last time. No matter who wins and who loses, the pattern in which the three empires dominate the world will not change.

Eduardo, the foreign secretary: "The question that should be most concerned about now is Austria, and the outcome of the Russian-Prussian war will determine who their potential rivals will be in the future.

Prussian confrontation with each other is actually a good choice. Now that the Austrians let the Russian-Prussian war break out, it seems that the Vienna government is not content with the status quo.

In recent years, Austria's strength has grown very rapidly. Especially economically, the performance is particularly prominent.

In addition to military strength, Austria has fully surpassed France. If the French cannot digest the Italian region for a long time, the strength of France and Austria will be out of balance sooner or later. "

Now France and Austria are the enemies of Britain, nothing to do with other powers. France and Austria have the power to threaten the British and are enemies of the London government.

Britain, France and Austria formed an alliance for the common good. There is a covenant that can restrict everyone's behavior, reduce colonial conflicts, and save a lot of military spending.

An alliance is an alliance, and suppression and restrictions are still necessary. Limiting the power of France and Austria has become one of the core strategies of the London government.

Colonial Secretary Robert: "The French have digested the Italian region, and the European continent will also lose its balance, but it will become France surpassing Austria.

This is actually a false proposition. Whether France overwhelms Austria or Austria surpasses France, the strength gap between them will not widen in one day.

We have enough time to make strategic adjustments. The question now is the upcoming Russian-Prussian war. Who is more in our interest to win? "

Robert is optimistic about the French, which is all the confidence given by Napoleon.

When the French army swept the European continent, the shadow was too great for everyone. Even if the French army did not keep up with the rhythm in the new round of military reform, everyone still thinks that the French army is number one in the world.

The performance of the French army in the First Near Eastern War strengthened the British view. The slow replacement of weapons and equipment, and the fact that military training was stuck in decades ago, have all been inadvertently ignored by everyone.

It is generally believed in the international community that the French army ranks first in the world in combat effectiveness when its troops are comparable.

According to the experience gained from the anti-French war, the best way to defeat the French is to spend more money and invest more troops.

It is also based on this that everyone believes that Fao's strength is comparable. The French army is more elite, the Austrians are more powerful, and the economy is stronger, and the offset is exactly equal.

Foreign Secretary Edward: "The Austrians deliberately indulged the Prussian outbreak, clearly seeking further territorial expansion.

No matter who wins or loses this war, the Vienna government is the biggest victor. In terms of geopolitical relations, after Prussia and Russia have a winner, no one will be able to hinder Austria's expansion.

In the past few years, the French government has been in constant infighting. In the past two years, Napoleon IV gradually took power, and the Paris government stabilized.

Because of their interests, the capitalists who previously supported Napoleon III's unification of the Italian region now stand on the opposite side of the Paris government and secretly fund Italian independent organizations.

In the context of internal instability, the French have lost the ability to check and balance Austria, which is why

It was the main reason why the Vienna government dared to indulge the outbreak of the Prussian-Russian War.

In order to balance the European continent, we must create another enemy for the Austrians to contain them from behind. Both Prussia and Russia are options.

From the perspective of development potential, the threat of the Russians is significantly greater. Once this war is won, the mighty Russian Empire will come back again.

Perhaps their vitality was severely damaged after the war, and they were unable to compete for hegemony in the European continent, but in Central Asia and the Far East, they would still threaten our interests. "

In the era of Napoleon III, the problem in Italy was not serious. Relying on super-powerful political tricks to suppress and win over a wave, it is generally stable.

Napoleon IV's turn was different. Because the Paris government was busy with infighting, it ignored the domestic economic construction.

In particular, the wrong economic policies have been formulated to allow the two markets to merge into one. After the market was opened, the capitalists who supported the merger with France found themselves fooled.

What appears to be a fair competition has actually turned into an economic plunder of the Italian region by France.

It's not that the capitalists in the Italian region are not working hard, but that the gap in industrial strength between the two sides is too great, and it is simply not possible to catch up in a short period of time.

If these are the only problems, it is not unbearable, only the small and medium capitalists are unlucky. Powerful capitalists can replace new equipment and regain competitiveness.

However, both the Italian region and France share a common problem - lack of resources.

In order to compete for resources, capitalists have to show their talents. There is no doubt that the Paris government is sitting on the right side, and when formulating policies, it is more inclined to local capitalists.

After going back and forth, the resentment accumulated. Unwilling to be lonely, the capitalists slowly manipulated public opinion, provoked public dissatisfaction with the French, and attempted to force the Paris government to make concessions.

The result is naturally self-evident. Even if the French government wants to make a move, the capitalists in Paris will not agree.

In the last economic crisis, this contradiction was directly detonated. Some capitalists began to lean towards independence and advocated nationalism in the Italian region.

It was not just the capitalists who were dissatisfied with the French, but in fact the local aristocracy was equally dissatisfied. One radish and one pit, in the distribution of rights by the French government, they got too little.

Despite the contradictions, there has been no large-scale independence movement in the Italian region. The reason is simple, the living standard of ordinary people has improved despite various discomforts.

It doesn't matter if the local economy is not good, you can export labor. They are all one country, so going out to work is naturally not a problem.

Compared with the Italian region, France is properly paid. It was also a win-win, with more income for ordinary Italians and cheap labor for French capitalists.

Some people are happy and some people are disappointed. In just ten years, labor costs in the Italian region have doubled due to labor mobility. This even made the capitalists in the Italian region grit their teeth.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Balfour: "What can the Commonwealth give us? What can the Russians give us?

With all due respect, these two countries can bring us too little benefit. Just to check and balance Austria, we don't need our intervention at all. Whoever wins is Austria's enemy.

Now they ask us for help, not for international diplomatic support, but more for money.

What determines the outcome of this war is not whether the Prussian and Russian armies are elite, but who can raise more money.

It's easy to lend them money, but how do you get it back?

Although I don't want to admit it, I have to admit that our ability directly determines the outcome of this war.

If you make the wrong bet, you will end up losing everything. This is hundreds of millions of pounds and I am against making a choice now. "

The word "money" has exhausted the essence of British diplomacy. It directly silenced Edward, the foreign secretary who was inclined to support the Commonwealth of Pope.

No way, the risk is too great. He didn't even know what to ask from the Pubo Federation to ensure the safety of this debt.

After hesitating for a moment, Prime Minister Benjamin made a decision: "First explore the bottom of William I and see how much chips they have.

To win the war, the Pubo Federation needs the support of at least two major powers. If they can get the support of Austria or France, it is not impossible to issue war bonds for them. "

International debt is risky, even for John Bull with deep pockets. They don't dare to directly invest hundreds of millions of pounds in gambling without finding someone to share the risk.

Supporting the Russians was not in Benjamin's consideration at all. The main reason is not the potential threat, but the money.

Based on the credibility of the Tsarist government, if he dared to lend money to the Russians, he would be in the water.

Don't consider the issue of collateral, even if you sign a contract, you can also default. The ships of the Royal Navy could not go ashore again, and their deterrent effect on the Russians was too small.