Chapter 893 Forcing the Palace and the Fuse
On September 11, 1890, the five countries of Germany, Belgium, Austria, Greece and Heilongjiang closed trade channels with France at the same time, and the material embargo officially began.
For a time, the European continent was in a state of turmoil, and everyone knew that this was a harbinger of the coming storm, and the European war was probably unavoidable.
Persuade the French to make concessions?
The material embargo of the anti-French alliance directly forced the Paris government to a corner. Taking a step back is not the vast sky, but the abyss and hell.
Persuade the anti-French alliance to calm down?
Not even that. The anti-French coalition is the victim, and it would not have happened if the French had not been ambitious enough to invade Central Europe.
The worries of the people who eat melons are just that they are worried that the European War will affect Chiyu, not how much they love peace, and true pacifists cannot hold power.
Versailles Palace, Napoleon IV with dark circles under his eyes, once again held a political meeting. No way, waiting is the most worrying.
With the development of the situation, it was originally just trying to gain benefits from the two countries, but now it has evolved into a decisive battle to determine the future destiny of France.
Foreign Minister Karel Kadlec: "Austria has started to form an anti-French alliance and has now drawn Belgium, the North German Confederation, Greece and Montenegro to join.
Switzerland and the Netherlands have begun to waver, and anti-French voices in the Spanish government are also rising.
Recently, Austria has strengthened its ties with the Nordic Federation and Portugal. If we continue to drag on, the situation will only become more and more unfavorable for us. "
Brain tonic is the most terrifying thing. The Austrian government has frequent contacts with dignitaries from various countries, and has also announced that this is to strengthen commercial cooperation.
It's good that the Austrian government doesn't explain it, and it's hard for Karel Kadlec to doubt it.
In the era of free trade, the government mostly did not interfere with the operation of the economy, and there was no cooperation at all.
In fact, the same is true. Although Austria has frequent contacts with other countries, it has not signed a treaty, at least not on the surface.
Karel Kadlec didn't know the specific negotiation content, but he still received the news that the representative had a good talk.
Whether it is deliberately disgusting France, or really intending to join the anti-French alliance, this is not a good thing for the French government.
Prime Minister Terence Burkin: "Now we are not only in trouble diplomatically, but also in strategic procurement.
In just a few months, the price of the strategic materials we plan to purchase has nearly doubled, and the price of some commodities has even doubled directly.
In the name of pacifying domestic prices, many countries have raised tariffs with us, greatly increasing the cost of corporate procurement.
Affected by the lack of raw material supply, some domestic enterprises have begun to cut production capacity, which is very unfavorable for the upcoming war.
There are indications that all this is controlled by Austria, and they are trying to use these means to defeat us outside the battlefield! "
The war between great powers is not only on the battlefield, but also full of swords, lights, swords and shadows outside the battlefield.
In this regard, France is undoubtedly at a disadvantage. Austria's foreign trade volume is several times that of France, and its domestic market is far greater than that of France.
The political and economic influence of the two sides has long been different. Coupled with the influence of historical problems, it is almost inevitable that the French government will be at a disadvantage.
Napoleon IV frowned: "It's not that serious, if European countries really supported the anti-French alliance, they would have joined the blockade against us long ago.
As long as they all join in, it is impossible for us to fight against all countries, and abandoning the China-EU strategy is an inevitable result.
The current situation is more like Austria's single-handed manipulation, pulling the big drama prepared for us by various countries, trying to make us mess up. "
Having been emperor for so many years, Napoleon IV is no longer a newbie. There are no secrets in politics, and national political diplomacy revolves around interests.
Starting from the perspective of interests, and analyzing what is most beneficial to a country, we can roughly guess what countries want to do.
There is no doubt that it is in everyone's interest that Fao loses both ways. In this context, except for the two foreign parties that Bide couldn't avoid, everyone was a master of watching the fun and not taking it too seriously.
Except for Greece and Montenegro, which have no choice but must support Austria, the rest of the countries have no reason to join the anti-French alliance.
In the eyes of Napoleon IV, what countries are doing now is to add fuel to the flames, cheer up the Austrians, and strengthen their determination to go to war with France.
Economy Minister Elsa: "Your Majesty, we can't delay it any longer. When we are ready for war, the enemy is also ready for war.
We are not a member of the free trade system. We are at a disadvantage in terms of purchasing strategic materials, and our domestic economy is slightly inferior to that of Austria, so we are not suitable for a protracted war with Austria. "
Napoleon IV understood that it was not the ministers who were anxious, but the domestic capitalists who were anxious.
After it was determined that the French government would implement the China-Europe strategy, the capitalists started production at full capacity.
With the passage of time, the goods in everyone's hands increased day by day, the liquidity decreased day by day, and the war still did not break out.
If there is a big change in the middle, and suddenly the war will not be fought, or it will be delayed for three years or five years, everyone will be finished.
The goods sold are money, and the goods accumulated in the hands are not assets, but liabilities, because storage also requires costs.
The government can purchase in advance and think about it. It is impossible to achieve. The reason is very simple: the French government does not have so many warehouses for storing materials.
In this context, if the capitalists want to digest the inventory in their hands, they can only make the war break out in advance.
The ministers clamored to start the war in advance, not everyone was bought, mainly because they knew that they could not stop it.
Either the government takes the initiative to provoke the war and takes the initiative in the war; or the capitalists start to provoke the war, and no one knows how the situation will develop.
Without waiting for Napoleon IV to make a decision, the attendant hurriedly shouted outside the door: "Your Majesty, there is an emergency military situation at the front."
The situation on the European continent is already very tense. At this time, even if the anti-French alliance comes first, everyone will not be surprised.
Hearing the emergency military situation, Napoleon IV naturally did not dare to neglect: "Bring it in!"
...
After a moment, Napoleon IV said slowly: "There is news from the front that three soldiers were suddenly attacked by the enemy while patrolling the border between us and Belgium. Two died and one disappeared."
This is not the first time that border friction has occurred, but the situation of dead people has never happened before.
Because of the tense situation, the border has long been alerted, and soldiers go out to patrol in groups, and the distance between neighbors is not too far.
Under normal circumstances, if an accident occurs, the surrounding troops will arrive immediately. The dead are understandable, but the disappearance is intriguing.
As long as there is no water in the brains of the two countries, they will not do such strange things. But at this juncture, no one cares so much.
Whether it makes sense or not, the French government wants to go to war, and this is a ready-made casus belli.
Even if he knew that there was a problem here, Napoleon IV could not go further. Otherwise, if something is found, it will be the French government who will be embarrassed in the end.
However, it is inevitable that the heart is unhappy, but the deceased is a French soldier. He didn't die on the battlefield, but because some people wanted to start a war in advance, they suffered a disaster.
Everyone bowed their heads and said nothing. When this happened, they were also very embarrassed!
Either earlier or later, but not at this time.
Just now everyone lobbied the emperor to go to war, and a casus belli appeared immediately.
This misunderstanding is politically fatal. If there was a strong emperor, they could go home now.
Under the sharp eyes of Napoleon IV, Prime Minister Terence Bourgin said bravely: "Your Majesty, what happened, we should immediately hold Belgium accountable.
Order the Kingdom of Belgium to hand over the murderer within 48 hours, release the captured soldiers, and compensate us for our losses.
Either...or else..."
Seeing the increasingly ugly face of Napoleon IV, in the end, Prime Minister Terence Bulkin could no longer speak, and his voice became choppy.
Seemingly feeling that it was almost over, Napoleon IV withdrew his murderous gaze and said coldly, "Just do as the Prime Minister wants, but it's best not to make any more troubles."
...