Chapter 674

Christmas in 1879 was extraordinarily lively. Except for the warring Prussia and Russia, the Europeans had a good year.

As is customary, the Vienna government assigns annual tasks to various departments after the New Year.

The only exception is the Immigration Department. Everyone knows that it is a fantasy to complete the big immigration strategy when the domestic economy is booming.

So the task of the Immigration Department in 1880 is still to continue the unfinished task of the previous year, and there is no penalty.

In this regard, the Austrian government is still very pragmatic. The tasks of various departments are formulated after research and based on the actual situation.

Entering the new year, Franz's deepest feeling is that he is "one year older".

Judging from the average life expectancy of this era, this age can be called high life expectancy. In folk, this age can already be retired.

Rural areas are better. In cities, people of this age are basically unemployed. No factory will hire people of this age.

Physical decline and inflexibility of hands and feet cannot be changed by individual will. It is good for those who are engaged in mental work, but for purely manual workers, except for a few positions, most of the work is insulated from them.

There is no need to worry about pension issues. Heavy manual labor and expensive medical system have helped everyone get through the "old age crisis".

"Franz, when do you think Frederick's wedding will take place?"

Queen Helen's voice pulled Franz back in deep thought.

"So early, isn't it too urgent?" Franz replied without thinking.

"How early!" Seemingly aware that Franz didn't care about his son's marriage, Helen said dissatisfiedly: "Frederick is 24 years old, and Victoria is 18 years old. The Baden royal family has sent a telegram to Cui, you can't Take it easy!"

Franz was stunned for a moment, and he said it casually! He had never seen Helen make such a big fire after being married for so many years.

Whether it's a woman's menopause, or a mother's strength, Franz has no time to delve into it.

"What are you thinking, I mean just after Christmas, it's too urgent to talk about marriage.

What's more, Prussia and Russia are at war, and the European continent is bleeding into rivers. At this juncture, it is too unlucky for Frederick to get married. "

After being the emperor for so many years, Franz discovered today how strong his ability to make excuses is, as if he had returned to coaxing his girlfriend in his previous life.

A woman's inexplicable fire comes and goes quickly.

After listening to Franz's defense, Queen Helen put out her anger and still complained: "This damn war is really annoying."

Then he pointed his head at Franz: "Why do you men always like to fight and kill, why can't you sit down and have a good talk?"

Franz, who was a little guilty, rolled his eyes and replied without changing his face: "Because we want to support you!"

"The world is so big, and the gifts of nature cannot meet the needs of all human beings. In order to survive, everyone can only fight and seize.

The Russian-Prussian War is the result of the sublimation of contradictions. No one can make concessions. Concession means disaster. "

This is not nonsense, but there is enough theoretical basis. According to the analysis of data collected by the Austrian government, sociologists generally believe that 70% of the world's people are currently hungry, which means that more than one billion people in the world are hungry.

Accurate or not, there is no need to dispute this issue. Most people are in poverty and it is difficult to even make a living. This is a social reality.

Not to mention areas where industry has not developed, even the European continent, which claims to be a civilized world, has more than 200 million poor people out of a total population of 320 million.

Of course, compared with other regions, due to the influence of colonial dividends, the life of European people is still much better. Most people can barely fill their stomachs as long as they work hard.

There are many reasons for hunger, including: exploitation by the ruling class, insufficient regional food production capacity, colonial rule...

The hunger problem of all mankind has not been solved in the 21st century, and it is even more impossible to solve it in this era.

What we can do is to sweep the snow in front of our own door. While developing our country, we can go out and plunder, basically, we can fill the stomach of the people.

If we talk about the first Prussian-Russian war, there are also elements of the battle of face and morale; the second Prussian-Russian war is completely a battle of living space.

The main factor leading to the outbreak of war is interest, and hatred has long since receded to a secondary position.

If the tsarist government wants to restore its status as a great power, rush out of the Baltic Sea, and recover lost territory, it must defeat the Commonwealth.

And vice versa, if the Commonwealth of Pubo wants to go further, it can only expand eastward.

It can be said that the war has been doomed since the Berlin government decided to abandon land and sea. This is determined by geographical location. Without becoming a colonial empire, it can only expand eastward.

Although the strength of the German Federal Empire in the west is not great, it has a special geographical location. Going west is equivalent to declaring war on Britain and Austria at the same time, or declaring war on the four countries of Britain, France, Russia and Austria.

To the south is the stronger Austria, and to the north is the Nordic Federation. Geographically speaking, the Berlin government is also considered to be facing the Russians on the way to the north.

Queen Helen was not interested in politics, and she usually wouldn't get involved unless she had to. In her opinion, these issues are far less important than having grandchildren as soon as possible.

"You can do it, and if Frederick complains, I will sue

Tell him what you mean. "

In the end, she still felt sorry for her son. Queen Helen didn't want Frederick to be wronged. It's okay for ordinary people to get married when there is blood in Europe, but as the Crown Prince of Austria, it is inevitable that marriage will be affected at this time.

As long as the guests who want to attend the wedding are not here to send blessings, but are busy talking about the Prussian-Russian war, Queen Helen feels the awkward scene.

Franz smiled and made a very confident judgment: "Don't worry, the Russian-Prussian War will not last long. If it goes well, it will end at the end of this year, and it will be delayed until 1882 at the latest."

If Prussia and Russia decide the winner, the war may end at the end of the year; if the winner cannot be determined, the war will end after two years.

We have not yet entered the 20th century, and if we want to continue like a world war for four or five years, our national strength will not be able to support it!

There is no parent who is not in a hurry to hold a grandson. Franz is also forced to help his son's marriage. In the royal family, marriage must serve politics.

In this case, it is natural to maximize the benefits. With such a big sacrifice, Frederick would have lost a lot if he didn't make a huge amount of political resources.

The end of the Russo-Prussian War and the great changes in the European situation was the best time for Austria to infiltrate the German Confederation.

Things that have already been negotiated can also be taken to the bright side, and the final political results achieved cannot be without Frederick's party.

Contributed to the German regional unification movement and accumulated political prestige, which was very important to Frederick's future succession to the throne.

The second generation of emperors is not easy to be, especially the father is very powerful. The outside world will compare them, but how can political achievements be so easy to make?

Franz was in an era of great change. He took the top position in this special period, and his achievements could not be replicated later.

...

While Franz was worrying about his son, the Prussian battlefield also changed. After going through untold hardships, the Prussian army finally gained the upper hand in the Ukrainian battlefield.

Mao Qi, who was good at fighting on the outside, gave full play to the advantages of the Prussian army's fast speed. He used a series of tactics such as encircling points and attacking the east and attacking the west.

After a series of operations that can be included in military textbooks, in the months from the end of 1879 to the beginning of 1880, the Prussian army annihilated more than 200,000 Russian troops, which was called the "Warren Victory" by the European media.

Tactically, the Prussian army was successful, but strategically it could only be regarded as a slight advantage. The Russians lost most of Warren, but kept the strategic location of Brest, and the Mauchy Kiev offensive was incomplete.

A small regret is nothing, anyway, the South has won, and other battlefields will be much worse. In particular, the northern coast was attacked by the Russian navy, and many port cities were reduced to ruins under artillery fire, resulting in heavy losses.

The central battlefield was not much better. Although there was no loss on the battlefield, the Russian army continued to send Cossack cavalry to further sabotage, which made the Berlin government very distressed.

I don't know if it was due to talent or not. On the frontal battlefield, the combat effectiveness of the Cossack cavalry was not much stronger than that of the Prussian cavalry, but once they turned into robbers, their combat effectiveness skyrocketed like a hang-up.

Once, a Cossack cavalry regiment was accidentally surrounded by a Prussian cavalry regiment and two infantry regiments after a robbery. As a result, they just defeated the Prussian cavalry regiment and broke out with some spoils.

Although this was related to the fact that the Prussian army came in a hurry and the encirclement did not have time to tighten, the combat effectiveness of the Cossack cavalry still shocked the Prussian army.

This is not an exception, as long as careful analysis and research will find that when protecting their own spoils, the Cossack cavalry is always able to perform well.

In order to combat the arrogance of the Russians, the Prussian army also set up traps many times to successfully ambush these robbery "robbers".

Interests are moving, and no amount of risk can stop the Cossack's dream of making a fortune.

Moreover, the tsarist government was very generous this time, not only did the spoils belong to itself, but also provided generous rewards, as long as they participated in the robbery, they would have to pay a bounty of 3 rubles.

Looking at the summary of the battle losses between Prussia and Russia, Franz came to a "tie conclusion".

The Russian soldiers suffered more casualties, and the Popo Federation civilians suffered more casualties, and no one took advantage.