Chapter 678 The Precarious South American War

Interests are moving, Austria is unwilling to make concessions to the British on the South American issue, and France is also unwilling to see its own interests damaged.

After Peru and Bolivia decided to continue the war, the Paris government readily agreed.

Over time, the French Empire grew and nationalism flourished at home.

The rising nationalists are naturally unwilling to be subordinated to the British. Coupled with the conflict of power and interests of a century of hatred, the French people are very disgusted with the pro-British factions in the government.

In the era of Napoleon III, by virtue of the merits of annexing the Italian region, it was also able to suppress contradictions.

By the time of Napoleon IV, things had changed. Immediately after taking the throne, the government ushered in a chaos, and the pro-British faction, which dominated the government, was besieged by all parties.

Politicians are the most realistic. Choosing to be pro-British is just for the benefit of the country. Now it is no longer needed. It has even become a burden and trouble. It is also a natural thing to change political stance.

Not only for the British, the foreign policy of the Paris government in recent years has been much tougher than that of Napoleon III.

In this era of the strong prey to the weak, diplomatic toughness is naturally based on strong strength.

It has to be admitted that the strength of France has grown rapidly in recent decades, accompanied by the upsurge of nationalism. Especially after the annexation of the Italian region, the trend of expansionism in France also became strong.

When Napoleon III was in power, capital was constrained, and interest groups knew how to restrain themselves. After Napoleon IV came to the throne, the government fell into infighting, and the restraint on capital slowed down.

It is the so-called "three days without the roof uncovered". After a few years of free life, the capitalists are gradually blinded by their interests, and wishful thinking that the French army is the first in the world in combat effectiveness.

With such a powerful strength, it is natural to get matching benefits. Perhaps it was the anti-French war that cast a shadow on them, fearing that they would be besieged by public anger, and they are still in the diplomatic tentative stage.

The three major countries have their own thoughts, and mediation has naturally become "the flower in the mirror and the moon in the water".

From the "guano war" to the game between Britain, France and Austria, the war is not just a dispute over the territory and interests of the three South American countries.

...

London

Foreign Secretary Edward slowly put down the coffee in his hand and said, "Our two allies are restless again. It seems that the Russian-Prussian war still hasn't put enough pressure on them. They still have the energy to make small moves in South America."

"This is an inevitable result. In the past two decades, the strength of France and Austria has grown rapidly, and ambition has naturally grown.

As long as France and Austria do not face each other directly, the situation in Europe will not get out of control. There are lessons from the Prussian-Prussian War, and decision-makers in France and Austria, no matter how ambitious they are, should think twice before acting. ' laughed Garfield, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Obviously, the changes in South America are not enough to move the London government.

As competitors, making small moves with each other is normal operation. If there is no movement for several years, then only ask.

The British do not worry about France and Austria doing things overseas. The strength of the Royal Navy is enough to suppress all the turmoil. As long as the European situation is not broken, Britain will not be in danger.

The tragic Prussian-Russian War is bound to affect the strategic decisions of European countries. No one wants to fight a lose-lose war, a third party who is cheap to watch the fun.

The main contradiction in the European continent today is the contradiction between Prussia and Russia. Although there were many conflicts between Britain, France and Austria, they did not reach the point of war.

Without the reshuffle of the war, the balance of power on the European continent will not be broken, and the London government will be able to sit firmly on the Diaoyutai.

Britain's world hegemony was after the Anti-French War, and Metternich led the establishment of the Vienna System. After 30 years of balance on the European continent, the British had the energy to build a world empire.

Prime Minister Benjamin: "Since France and Austria want to play, then we will accompany them to the end. Just use this opportunity to wake them up, so as not to continue to do stupid things."

There is no threat to strategic security, which does not mean that the London government will let this happen. The small actions of France and Austria still harm the interests of Britain.

In international struggles, you come and go, and stabbing each other is inevitable. The British have the most experience in this regard.

Although the South American countries have become independent, they have not completely escaped the influence of Europe because of their own strength.

Under the background that the world has been carved up, the weak South American countries have also become the objects of competition between Britain, France and Austria.

It is also a good choice to turn South America into an economic colony without establishing colonial rule locally.

In addition to the interests of Chile, Bolivia and Peru, the South American War was also a game in which Britain, France and Austria extended their tentacles into South America.

In this regard, both France and Austria lag behind. The Austrian colonial empire started too late, and France was affected by the anti-French war and missed the best time to expand its power.

If there was no South American war, the British would not support Chile, and I am afraid that Peru and Bolivia would not fall to Fao.

...

The Vienna Palace, the news of the British shot, has been passed to Franz.

Franz was not at all surprised that this happened. What surprised him was that the British reacted too strongly, with the intention of pushing France and Austria out of South America.

On February 11, 1880, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Ecuador, under the pretext of maintaining world peace, announced a material embargo against the three belligerents, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru.

It seems that a "material embargo" was imposed on the three belligerent countries at the same time, but in fact, only Peru and Bolivia were embargoed. As for Chile, sea transportation is much more convenient than land transportation.

After being embargoed by the four countries, only the Republic of Colombia, the last "lifeline", remains in the Peruvian Union.

However, this "lifeline" is also in jeopardy and may break at any time.

In recent times, Colombia has been in frequent contact with the British. If France and Austria had not had enough influence in Colombia, because they were afraid of the reaction of the two countries, it is estimated that the Colombian government would have joined the embargo alliance long ago.

There are many reasons for the embargo of the four countries. In addition to the influence exerted by the British, it is more because of interests.

This needs to be traced back to the War of Independence. In order to resist the colonial rule of Spain, everyone established an alliance and acted together.

"It is easy and difficult to share, and it is difficult to share wealth." After dividing up the spoils of war after driving away the Spaniards, everyone felt that they had contributed the most and should take the biggest share.

In the face of interests, former allies have become today's enemies. These conflicts laid hidden dangers for the ensuing scuffle in South America.

The "guano war" is just one of them, including the previous Paraguayan war, which was part of it.

Franz has no interest in figuring out the cause and effect, what is right and what is wrong. In this age of the jungle, the victor is not to blame.

Franz asked: "How likely is it that Colombia will fall to Chile, given the current situation?"

After some thought, Foreign Minister Wesenberg replied: "If neither we nor the French intervene, Colombia's entry into the embargo is almost 100 percent."

This answer made Franz frown. Obviously, he underestimated the influence of the British in South America. He took it for granted that as long as Fao worked together, the South American countries would stand on the sidelines.

After hesitating for a while, Franz said slowly: "Test the attitude of the French. With our strength alone, there is no way to compete with the British in South America."

Although I don't want to admit it, the reality is so cruel. The British have been operating in South America for many years, and the potential influence is not comparable to Austria.

If it weren't for the presence of the Austrian Central American colonies, not even the Colombian government in Vienna would have been affected. To put it bluntly, the main force determining international influence in the sea power era is the navy.

Although there are a lot of Austrian navy, but there are also many colonies of their own, if you want to cast a net all over the world, you simply can't do it.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" replied Wesenberg

...

The two countries of Fao and Austria have a great cause. Even if they withdraw from South America now, it will not hurt their vitality, and they can make a comeback at any time.

Peru and Bolivia are miserable. They are both agricultural countries. Once they lose foreign supplies, it will be difficult to continue the war.

Unlike a big country, a small country has no chance to come back. As long as you lose a war, you lose everything.

While the Vienna government was reacting, the new governments of Peru and Bolivia, which had just come to power, hurriedly took diplomatic action without reckoning with the losers.

A diplomatic battle that will determine the direction of the situation in South America has thus kicked off.