Chapter 653

At the Vienna Palace, the content of the English-Prussian negotiation has been in the hands of Franz. It's not how powerful the intelligence department is, it's completely leaked by the British on purpose.

This kind of high-level negotiation has only a few people in the know, and they are all senior ministerial officials. It is simply not something that intelligence organizations can buy.

It is not surprising that the Commonwealth of Pope and Bo is moving closer to the British. In any case, John Bull is a sea-power state, and it is impossible to become the hegemon of the mainland. There is no direct conflict between the British and the Commonwealth.

In contrast, Austria is different. The Vienna government is calling for the unification of the German region every day. The core territories of the Commonwealth of Pubo are all in the German region. It is no wonder that the Berlin government is not worried.

From Austria's standpoint, it is in their own interests that both Prussia and Russia lose out. To cooperate with Austria is to seek skin from a tiger. Given the choice, the Berlin government naturally favoured the British.

"The British actually want to promote Franco-Prussian relations. What do you think is the conspiracy behind this?"

For a long time, the British have been trying to isolate the French, and now they are suddenly pushing the French and French closer together. It is difficult for Franz not to speculate with the greatest malice.

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg said: "Your Majesty, there may be two reasons for this.

The outcome of this Russian-Prussian war is unpredictable. The British can only guarantee the victory of the Commonwealth of Prussia, and they do not want to give up the benefits of being delivered to the door. They must find someone to share the risk.

If they win over the French and join forces with Britain and France, even if the war situation is unfavorable, they can keep the Commonwealth and ensure that the investment will not be lost.

The other is for us. The London government believes that Fao's strength has been unbalanced, and it needs to win over allies for the French and continue to maintain the balance of the European continent.

The latter is unlikely. With the reputation left by Napoleon, the British will only overestimate the strength of France, and it is impossible to underestimate it.

Since backing the restoration of the Spanish crown, the French strategic situation in Europe has reversed. The London government is still struggling to break up the Franco-Spanish alliance, and there is no reason to continue to win over allies for them. "

In the mid-19th century, after the restoration of Napoleon III, France broke the shackles of the Vienna system, and its military strength was fully revived.

European countries were worried about the military threat from France. Under the leadership of Austria, countries such as West, Pude, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands signed a mutual defense treaty, and the French strategy fell into a passive state.

Of course, the French expansion road was not blocked. For example: Osa has bad relations, the Kingdom of Sardinia is excluded from the United Defense Organization, and the French have only one way to expand to the Italian region.

In order to change the diplomatic embarrassment, Napoleon III took a series of political and diplomatic actions to improve relations with European countries.

After the outbreak of civil strife in Spain, the French government supported the restoration of Alfonso XII, Spain announced its withdrawal from the United Defense Organization, and the strategic blockade declared bankruptcy.

Geopolitical relations and the closeness of France and Spain made John Bull unable to sleep. For their own strategic security, the British have been trying to separate France and Spain.

Prime Minister Felix: "No matter what the reason is, it has become a fact that the Franco-Prussian approach has become a reality. Without the cooperation of the British, it is difficult for us alone to prevent this from happening.

The French are ambitious and have always wanted to seize the hegemony of the European continent.

The two sides already have the basis of interests for cooperation, and even if they do not form an alliance, the relationship will go further. We need to prepare in advance to avoid being caught off guard. "

No way, the Pope Federation chose the British, and Austria could only support the Russians, which was determined by national interests.

Franz is not interested in European hegemony, but he can't say this! Austria has no ambitions for the European continent, and Franz himself does not believe it.

This is not a question of ambition, it is mainly determined by strength. Whether they like it or not, as long as the strength is there, interest groups will push the government to rush up.

Now Austria is not moving, that is the game is still in progress. The French's Huweiyu is there. On the bright side, the military strength of France and Austria is comparable, and the British are on the side.

The rise of Austria is one part military and nine parts politics, and there are relatively few radicals in the country. The ideal strategy of most people is to unify the German region, and to dominate the world is not within the scope of the plan.

Of course, this is also related to the distribution of benefits. Austria has won a lot in the colonial movement. As a vested interest, it is naturally not so cynical and has to rush to break the world order.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "The situation is not that serious, and it is not all bad for the Franco-Prussian approach. At least the German Confederation will fall to us. If you are lucky, you can also win over Belgium.

As long as the Russians do not fall, the Commonwealth of Pope will always be contained, and the main thing we need to face is France.

The only headache is not sure about the Brits' options. However, this is not difficult to solve. There are definitely more anti-French factions in the London government than anti-Austrian factions, and we have a greater advantage in diplomacy.

Besides, it is still Belgium and the German Confederation. It is impossible for the London government to completely ignore the interests of the younger brother. It is more likely that they will join hands with us to suppress the French. "

The reality is in front of us, the French import tens of millions of tons of coal from Belgium and Germany every year, and this number is still increasing.

This has seriously affected the development of the French economy, especially in the field of heavy industry. France has lagged behind Britain and Austria in an all-round way.

Even if the French government wanted to exercise restraint, domestic capitalists would not agree. If the Paris government doesn't want to see Italy's problems escalate, it has to solve the energy problem.

Looking around, in addition to Belgium and the German Confederation, Britain and Austria are the only two countries that are rich in coal resources nearby. This

A multiple-choice question is simply a fixed answer.

The French are still actively looking for coal mines, hoping to gain something in the North African colony. When their prospecting is complete, they will take the most extreme approach.

Everyone is a realist. When the French move, Belgium and Germany will find that the British are unreliable, and only Austria is an option.

Franz shook his head: "It's not that simple, hatred cannot sway the British's decisions, they can only be influenced by interests.

Judging from the current situation, France's demand for resources continues to increase, and within 20 years at most, the French will reach out to the two countries for resources.

At that time, we will either enter the market passively or actively participate in the game. The British will continue their balancing strategy, suppressing whoever is stronger.

From the point of view of economic data, the French have gone astray. In order to maintain rapid economic growth, I do not know which genius came up with the idea of ​​developing an industrial chain centered on the financial industry.

At the current rate of development, how long do you think the Fao balance can be maintained? "

The nature of the usury empire has not changed. Since the death of Napoleon III, the French government has been unable to suppress domestic capitalists, and the economy involuntarily tilted toward finance.

This situation has intensified as the energy crisis has intensified and the cost of French industry has continued to increase, with manufacturing making up a smaller and smaller share of the gross national product.

In the short term, the illusory figures cover up the contradictions and we cannot see the crisis. But once the war breaks out, all the problems will break out.

Needless to say, the world leader always has to suppress the second child. The French bubble burst, and that's when the Austrians and the British turned their backs.

Economy Minister Reinhard Haldegen: "How long the military balance can be maintained depends on the changes in the international situation. But in the economy, the balance has long been broken.

According to the analysis of data collected by the Bureau of Statistics, the industrial strength of France is only 68.1% of that of the British, and only 58.6% of ours, and this proportion is still declining.

The disparity is even greater in heavy industry. Take the steel industry as an example: France's steel production is only 37.2% of the British, less than one-third of ours.

Coal production is even more disparate, less than a third of the British and less than a quarter of ours.

These data have been able to tell a lot of questions, it is worth mentioning that the newly added Italian region has hardly contributed to the French heavy industry, the coal production is negligible, and there are only a few small steel workshops. "

It's not that the Italian region is underestimated, there are really not many local resources. The capitalists were willing to support Napoleon III in order to obtain more cheap industrial raw materials.

No one thought that France is also resource-poor. The annexation of the Italian region only increased the national strength of France in name, but in fact it was more of a burden.

If nothing else, without the Italian region, France's resources are definitely not as scarce as they are now.

After hesitating for a moment, Franz made a decision: "Accelerate the negotiation process with the Russians. As long as the Russians are willing to deposit their gold reserves in the Austrian National Bank, the insufficient part will accept their territorial mortgage.

If the Tsarist government agrees to use 90 percent of the funds to purchase Austrian goods, we will accept that they will pay their debts with industrial raw materials. "

Whether the loan is collected or not is not important anymore. Since the Federation of Pubo has made a choice, Austria cannot fail to respond.

Besides, this was already predestined. With the international credibility of the tsarist government, who, except Austria, would dare to lend them money?

Had the Vienna government not supported the Russians, the war would have been decided before the war had begun.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl's face changed greatly, and he quickly discouraged: "Your Majesty, the financial situation of the Russians is very bad. Even if they win the war, they can't afford to pay back the money.

Gold collateral is no problem. But territorial mortgages are completely unnecessary, and Austria does not need these rotten lands now.

Carving up the Commonwealth of Pope is nothing but an empty promise. Now that the British have decided to support the Commonwealth of Commonwealth, the chances of the French supporting them are also very high.

With the backing of Britain and France, even if the Russians can win, they will not be able to destroy the Commonwealth, and at most they will take back Poland. "

Karl repeatedly emphasized the "bad land", and Franz was also very headache. Since the localization of Africa, the desire to expand in the European continent at the top of the Vienna government disappeared.

It does not mean that the land mortgaged by the Russians is really rotten, on the contrary, it is still very fertile, mainly because the cost to be paid is too high.

Franz bite the bullet and explained: "This is a strategic need, we need Prussia and Russia to lose both sides, and eliminate two potential threats at the same time.

Without funding the tsarist government, what will the Russians fight for?

The issue of collateral can also be discussed with the Russians slowly. You can fool the Tsarist government first, and as long as they win the war, they can exchange the territory of the Popo Federation.

We can replace the homeland in Germany at a ratio of 1:3, and let them mortgage the Ukraine area as much as possible.

If the tsarist government insists on taking the Bulgarian territory as collateral, let them add Constantinople. They can also be allowed to redeem, but at a profit. "

Chancellor of the Exchequer Karl said worriedly: "With the credibility of the Tsarist government, I am afraid it will be difficult for them to fulfill the treaty, and I am afraid it will be another dispute."

Not "I'm afraid", but there is bound to be a dispute. With the credibility of the Russians, the possibility of voluntarily fulfilling the promise is almost zero, and it depends on the strength of the time.

Franz is very reassured at this point. The Popo Federation is not weak, and the post-war Russian Empire will also peel off its skin if it does not die.