Chapter 886

Neighbors are starting to prepare for war, and the French government naturally has no choice. At this point, even if it does not start a war, the French government can only follow and prepare for it.

Anyway, Napoleon IV did not believe in the so-called good-neighborliness and friendship. With the relationship between France and neighboring countries, once there was an imbalance in strength, someone would call in every minute.

In this era of the strong eating the weak, being weak is the greatest original sin, not to mention that everyone has hatred in the first place?

Since ancient times, military expansion has been considered a prelude to war, and the actions of the French government have once again intensified everyone's panic.

...

London

British Foreign Secretary George pointed to the map of Europe on the wall and said: "The plan has been carried out so far, and it is generally smooth.

Although they did not encourage Austria to send troops to unify the German region, the French had already taken the bait.

Affected by the tense situation, the Paris government has begun to expand its military force, and it is impossible to go back after taking this step.

The only trouble is that there are too many countries involved. The French government's diplomacy is really rubbish. Not a single ally has been found, not even the Spaniards.

According to the current situation, if we don't help, it is very likely that Austria will form an anti-French coalition after the outbreak of the war, and will besiege the French together with Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, West and other countries. "

Military expansion is no child's play, especially when the situation is tense. As soon as the government expanded its military, it sent a signal of war to the outside world.

Capitalists will increase investment in military-related fields, and existing military-industrial enterprises will expand their production capacity in the shortest possible time.

France has just experienced a wave of overcapacity and unemployment. Through the war, companies have been revived and workers have found jobs again.

If they want to stop, the capitalists will not agree in the first place. If they invest real money, they cannot see a return; workers who have finally re-employed will also not agree.

Driven by interests, it is a matter of time before a war breaks out. All the French government can decide is who to fight and where to start.

Prime Minister Gladstone nodded, the French have no allies, which is the basis for the alliance between Britain and France.

It's just that it's a bit unexpected for all the neighbors to be vigilant at the same time.

"I remember that the Spanish government was supported by the French, and the relations between France and Spain have been very good for the past ten years. They have no reason to turn to Austria, right?"

After the Spanish Revolution, the Bourbons went into exile in France. Napoleon III made a deal with the Bourbon Dynasty, at the cost of supporting Alfonso XII's rise to power, in exchange for the Bourbon Dynasty not causing him trouble.

After Alfonso XII came to power, the relationship between France and Spain rapidly heated up, and the outside world has always suspected that France and Spain had a secret alliance.

In such a relationship, in the absence of a particularly large conflict of interests, the possibility of the two countries turning against each other is very small.

George explained: “It is true that Franco-Spanish relations have been friendly for a while, but the contradictions between the two countries are even greater.

Especially after the death of Alfonso XII, the Austrian Archduchess Maria Christina took the regency, and Spain's foreign policy changed fundamentally, from the original pro-French to pro-Austria.

The current Franco-Spanish relationship can only be maintained on the surface, far from being an ally.

Just last week, Austria also provided an interest-free loan of 20 million Aegis to the Spanish government. After getting this loan, the Spanish government immediately announced the expansion of five infantry divisions.

Not only Spain, Austria has issued loans of varying amounts to Belgium, the German Confederation and Switzerland in the past month.

In this regard, the French government was very slow to respond. After the incident, they did not take correct measures to win over other countries. Instead, they sent people to warn and threaten. "

As good neighbors, France and Spain have never fought less, and the Habsburg dynasty has also made outstanding contributions in this regard.

But that was hundreds of years ago, and there is no hatred anymore. What the Spaniards still remember is the war against France.

If the British defeated the myth of the Armada and pulled Spain from the position of maritime supremacy, then Napoleon was the end of the Spanish Empire on which the sun never sets.

More than a dozen countries, including Mexico, Central America, Peru, Colombia, Chile, and Paraguay, with tens of millions of square meters of land became independent because of the anti-French war.

To say that the Spaniards have no resentment, it is absolutely impossible, but France is powerful, and Spain is weak and has a lot of internal contradictions, so it has to endure it.

No matter how forbearance, there is no such thing as this hatred in the relationship between France and Spain. When Alfonso XII was alive, the relationship between the two parties was not bad because of the grace of restoration.

After the regency of the Austrian Grand Duchess Maria Christina, there was no pro-French monarch, and the domestic anti-French voice naturally rose.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Xiaoji Childers: "On this aspect alone, the French government is not wrong.

Their relationship with their neighbors is not good. If they want to win over allies, they must pay a higher cost.

Just promising benefits, no one will believe that they are not Austria's opponents.

Their only advantage is the fame of the French army. If they can't win over these countries, they can deter them.

Anyway, it's a pile of grass, as long as France remains strong enough, these guys will not dare to act rashly.

Moreover, the French government is used to being strong, and if it suddenly drops its stature to win over other countries, it will make everyone feel uncomfortable.

good idea. "

This is fair. Pulling allies is really not France's strength. To fight against Austria on this, it is difficult to have a substantive effect other than labor and effort, and it is not as effective as force to deter.

Gladstone frowned. The situation of the French was worse than expected. Force deterrence is indeed effective, but if the two countries are deadlocked on the battlefield, these countries will be the last one to crush the camel. straw.

Franz's generosity to allies is world-famous, especially when it comes to generosity, which is absolutely nothing to say.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must find a way to keep all countries neutral, otherwise the French will have no chance of winning if the five countries join forces!"

The French are confident that it is propaganda that has been carried out for decades. The high-level government has grown up listening to this sentence, and subconsciously believes that the French army is invincible in the world.

Father, like son.

Gladstone was not so confident in the combat effectiveness of the French army. In his impression, the French army was indeed number one in the world, but number one was not equal to invincibility.

A lot of ants can kill an elephant, and France has no certainty of winning against Austria alone.

If Britain needs Fao to lose both, it is not for Austria to take advantage of the situation, and now it has to be sidelined.

Foreign Secretary George shook his head: "It is very difficult to do, unless the French attack Austria from the Italian region, we have a way to keep the countries neutral.

Otherwise, we can only keep Spain neutral, plus one Switzerland at most.

They are neutral countries, as long as the French do not take the initiative to seek trouble, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is sure to persuade the Swiss government to be neutral. "

There is no way that Fao is facing off because of Belgium and the German Confederation. It is impossible for the French to devour their country and to neutralize the two countries.

Prime Minister Gladstone nodded helplessly. Originally, the two countries were the younger brothers they supported, but now they have to give up for the sake of the empire.

Thinking of this, Gladstone had a headache again. Bieder and Germany were both members of the Gotha dynasty, and it would be fine if the French were defeated. If the French won the war, the Gotha dynasty would suffer greatly.

If he knew that this incident was planned by him, it is estimated that Queen Victoria had the heart to hack him to death, and now Gladstone does not dare to go to the palace.