Holy Roman Empire

This was originally prepared for geniuses. In the era of limited educational resources, Austria adopted elite education.

Military schools are the most obvious. Students who have received strict military training since childhood naturally have an advantage. However, this requires a lot of investment, which cannot be afforded by ordinary families.

No matter how high the cultural achievements of ordinary people are, if the scores of various professional examinations are added together, they will still only have the fate of being eliminated.It can be said that the more subjects are tested, the less opportunities ordinary students have.

Improve the teaching quality of public education and increase the teaching of these professional courses.It's a pity that this looks like a good idea, just think about it.

Adding a class means an increase in education expenditure.Compulsory education according to the standards of noble children is enough for the Vienna government to go bankrupt ten times.

Unless there is an increase in the demand for ordinary talents in society, it is impossible to expand university enrollment. Higher education in this era is too expensive.

Now even if the children of nobles can receive university education or military school education, no more than 35% of them can receive education.

Of course, there is no limit to the second-class technical colleges or pheasant universities, and anyone with money can study.

Baron Fickney said calmly: "Yes, it seems that I am really lucky!"

Viscount Oraby replied affirmatively: "Of course!"

Baron Fickney took a sip of the wine and continued to ask: "What unit does Harrington serve in? Is he planning to develop in the African continent? The chances of making military exploits are much greater there?"

This is Baron Fickney making the condition.There is no way, to win the support of the local nobles for colonial integration, it is natural to use interests to speak.

Most nobles will face a problem, there are many descendants, but there is only one title.

The eldest son inherited the title, so what about the arrangement for the second son?

According to the practice in the German region, if you have money, you can give them a fortune.Those who have no money either let them go out to make a living by themselves, or send them to the church to be priests.

After the Reformation, there was not so much oil and water in the church.The churches in the economically prosperous areas are okay, and some of them are making money from business. If they are unlucky and assigned to poor areas, they can only eat chaff.

Going out to make a living, this is only suitable for poor and settled.Most of them use the family connections to find them a decent job. This is how the aristocratic offshoots or the middle class are bought.

There are few opportunities and fierce competition in the mainland, but it is different in the colonies.If you have a family background, you can get a title if you are willing to spend resources.

If you get the cooperation of the local snake, then this difficulty can continue to be reduced.After all, for the colonies, wars happen every now and then.

In addition to earning military merits, you can also enter the colonial government to develop.Once the localization of the colony is passed, these official positions will also rise.

Or doing business in the colonies and opening up plantations, these are all ways, and the success rate is very high.

Olabi was tempted. He received Baron Fickney with such a high standard. In addition to the relationship between the two cousins, he also planned to invest resources to obtain noble titles for his sons.

Regardless of the fact that several of his sons have entered the military academy, they seem to have a bright future.In fact, Aurabi knows that there are too few people who can make a difference in peacetime.

Not to mention the descendants of viscounts, even if they enter the army with the title of duke, they may not be able to become generals when they retire.

Without military exploits, everyone can only suffer through qualifications.

After all, everyone has received military education since childhood, and no one's ability is too bad.There is no way to prove that your ability is superior to others, so why promote you first?

The army is a place where strength speaks, and the best way is to speak with military exploits.It is a pity that in the wars of this era, at most, the colonies bullied the aborigines, and there were still too many monks and too few food.

Olabi thought for a while and said, "It's not confirmed yet, he's just a recruit who hasn't enlisted in the army, and there's still at least half a year before he's assigned to the army.

If you go to the African colonies, then you will have to trouble your uncle to take care of it. "

There is no doubt that Olabi has not made up his mind.

As a veteran nobleman, he still has a lot of contacts in the army, and it is not difficult to use these connections to determine his son's service.

But promoting the localization of colonies is not that simple.Like many people, Orabi is also worried that after the colonization is localized, his own industry will be affected.

After all, there are not many other things in the colony, but a lot of land.Once so much land is developed, it is estimated that agricultural products will be affected by the price of cabbage.

Without getting an accurate answer, Baron Fickney still replied gracefully: "Of course, I'm his uncle!"

I can only sigh secretly in my heart, I didn't catch up with the good time, it would be great if Aurabi's sons were older.

Best when you've just retired from the military and are worrying about your future.Then without him opening his mouth, these boys will help convince his father.

During this banquet, Baron Fickney has successively persuaded three nobles to support the localization of the colony, and these people basically support it because of the next generation.

The impact of colonies on local agriculture is only the nobles with more land to worry about.If the land is gone, why worry about it?

After the land was bought, the land in the hands of the Austrian nobles was actually running out.Up to now, the land in the hands of nobles has dropped to less than 20% of the total land area of ​​the country.

Since the establishment of overseas colonies, many nobles, including the royal family, have been selling off their land one after another.

This is determined by interests. Using the funds from the sale of land to open up plantations overseas can often obtain several times or even ten times the previous land area.

Although the colonial land is worthless, it does not affect the value of the cash crops produced by these lands.Maybe the income per mu of land is not as good as that of the local land, but it can't support the land!

As the quantity goes up, so does the income.The emergence of large plantations has also promoted the progress of agricultural farming technology.

The popularity of mechanized agriculture in Austrian Africa continues to rise.It's a pity that the internal combustion engine has not yet come out, and the steam engine mechanism is too heavy and inconvenient at all.

Stimulated by interests, it was actually the great nobles headed by Franz who really promoted the localization of the colonies behind the scenes.

It's just that everyone paid attention to the political influence and did not directly express their position.Instead, Baron Fickney and other minor nobles were launched to charge forward and test the reaction of the domestic people.

Chapter 73 There is a pit or you have to jump

In London, Prime Minister John Russell is very dissatisfied with the current situation in Europe.

The Parisian government actually extended a loan to the Russians.Although for the British, this amount is not too big, only a mere 1 million francs.But the political factors behind this are very scary.

It was originally agreed that Britain and France would contribute money and efforts to support the Kingdom of Prussia in a proxy war with the Russians.

Now on the battlefield, the Kingdom of Prussia has just experienced a crisis, and the French can't wait to make trouble.

Perhaps in the eyes of the Paris government, this is to stop losses in time to obtain greater returns.From the standpoint of the British, Prime Minister John Russell could not tolerate it.

"The situation in Europe is deteriorating, France and Russia are getting closer, the position of the Paris government has changed, they have the intention to join forces with the Russians to carve up Prussia.

Perhaps an Austria should also be added. As long as France, Russia and Russia support Austria's annexation of the German Federation, it will become the division of the European continent by the three countries of Russia, France and Austria.

This is the worst situation. Each of the three countries of Russia, France and Austria has the strength to challenge us.If they carve up Europe, it will be even more difficult to restrict.

For the sake of Britain's strategic security, we must prevent this from happening. "

John Russell has a strong sense of crisis, which seems to be the commonality of the island nation and the driving force behind their success.

Continental balance is the national policy of the London government.At present, the European continent still maintains a balance, but the increasing size of the three countries of Russia, France and Austria has seriously threatened their dominance.

Originally, the London government was prepared to suppress the Russians first, and then use the Italian issue to provoke conflicts between France and Austria, allowing them to contain each other on the European continent.

The plan has never changed quickly, the conflict between France and Austria has not been ignited, and the Russian Empire is about to break through the restrictions and take control of the Baltic Sea.

Foreign Minister Raistling analyzed: "Your Excellency, the tsarist government first made concessions when France and Russia approached each other.

The Russians supported the annexation of the Rhineland by the French, but in fact they had no peace of mind.

You must know that Austria, Belgium, Prussia, the German Federation, Spain and other countries have agreements. If one party encounters a French invasion, they will jointly defend.

Even if the Russians support the French, but Russia and Austria are still allied, it is impossible for the Tsarist government to send troops to fight for the French, right?

Nationalism is a double-edged sword. As long as we arouse nationalism in Germany, Vienna will not be able to sit back and watch the French annex the Rhineland.

There is also a joint defense treaty. Although the French are strong, the strength of Austria is also not weak. With Spain, Belgium, the German Federation and other countries, the French have little chance of winning.

Napoleon III was not stupid enough to take risks without a chance of winning.

……

The three countries of Russia, France and Austria join forces to carve up the European continent. I think this possibility is almost zero. The first is the uneven distribution of spoils.

The Russians could get too little, and Austria could not give up the German region. After the Russians obtained the general Poland, the way forward was blocked by Austria.

Of course, the Tsarist government can expand to the Nordic region if it wishes.But Sweden is not a soft persimmon, and it is impossible to succeed without paying a certain price.

Besides, the Prussian-Russian War was fought so hard, would the Russians still be able to attack Sweden? "

This is a practical problem. Although the Russian Empire is powerful, its exhaustion has been revealed.If it was the Russian Empire before the Near East War, the Kingdom of Prussia would have already received a box lunch.

The main reason why the Tsarist government did not rely on crowd tactics to kill Prussia was that the government had no money.Increasing the number of troops on the front line also means increasing military spending.

Fighting on the Pod Plain, there are rivers that can transport strategic materials. In theory, even if the Tsarist government sends millions of troops, it can guarantee the supply of materials.

In the case of their own exhaustion, they will obviously suffer a big loss if they carve up the European continent with Fao.

It is only the Prussian Poland area, as long as the Kingdom of Prussia is defeated, there is no need to take millet from the fire.

"No, Raistlin. These are theories, you have to understand that the Russian Empire is a dictatorship. If the Tsar thinks it is possible, it can become a reality.

We cannot treat rational reasoning as tsarist decision-making.In fact, most of the Russian tsars were irrational.

Russia, France and Austria are all dictatorships, and as long as the emperor decides to form an alliance, we can't give them any chance to get closer. "

This is not Prime Minister John Russell's pessimism, but a national leader must take into account.For Great Britain, there is no need to take any risks now, and "stability" is the most important thing.

No matter what step the French-Russian relationship has reached, there is always nothing wrong with disturbing their relationship.

Playing the role of European shit-stirring sticks, they have provoked half of the conflicts in Europe over the past century, and now it's time to perform again.

……

The Berlin government intervened to obstruct it, and the British were also wreaking havoc. Naturally, Franz couldn't sit still.

If someone plotted against him, he must fight back.However, the loan contract has been signed, so naturally it cannot be torn up.Where to start a counterattack has become a real problem.

Alexander II knew how to adopt civilized means and secretly calculate within the scope of the rules. It is naturally impossible for Franz to break the rules.

Support the conservatives of the Russian Empire?

inappropriate!

This is because Russia's internal affairs are too deeply involved, and it has no effect except to worsen the relationship between the two countries.Franz didn't think that this group of people could beat Alexander II.

Secretly supporting the Revolutionary Party?

This is even more impossible.As an emperor, Franz and the Revolutionary Party were naturally in a hostile camp, and he couldn't do things that would support the enemy.

Moreover, the state of the Russian Empire is very bad, what if it is overthrown?

The decadent tsarist government was Austria's best ally, and the nascent Russia was Austria's greatest threat. Franz did not dare to take this risk.

Sow discord between the Russians and European countries?

It seems that there is no use in doing so, and there is no need for Franz to take action. Now the Tsarist government has been gloriously isolated.

……

After much deliberation, Franz finally came to the conclusion helplessly: under the background of the Russia-Austria alliance, the Russians cannot be dealt with in a short time.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg suggested: "Your Majesty, the Tsarist government has requested that we help modify a batch of breech-loading rifles."

During the war years, even the tsarist government attached great importance to weapons and equipment.After personally feeling the power of breech-loading rifles, they also had to abandon front-loading rifles.

Converting a front-loading rifle to a breech-loading rifle is naturally to save costs.In this respect, the Russo-Prussian War was not without its contributions, at least it taught the Tsarist government to be careful and careful.

Refitting hundreds of thousands of rifles is just a small business.If it weren't for the fact that the arms trade is rich in political significance, there would be no need for the foreign ministries of the two countries to negotiate.

Franz thought for a while and said, "Well, let them talk to the capitalists, we don't interfere with free trade.

Send someone to sell the production line of breech-loading rifles to the Russians, and sell them the second-hand goods that have been refitted in our warehouse by the way.

Remember to tell the Russians that the power of the breech-loading artillery is also more advantageous, and it is recommended that they purchase a batch for trial use. "

It takes time to modify the front-loading rifle, and the officers and soldiers on the front line will definitely not be able to wait. Of course, in this case, they can only buy it from Austria.

This is the bonus of selling arcane equipment to the Tsarist government during the Near East War.In addition to earning supporting service fees, the Russians also had to choose Austria when purchasing equipment.

After the outbreak of the Russo-Prussian War, the Tsarist government immediately placed an order with Austria to purchase strategic materials. The main reason was that everyone had the same standard system.

The road has been paved, and Franz naturally cannot let the Russians get rid of the influence of arcane equipment in this weapon revolution, which is related to the future strategic layout.

In peaceful times, the Russians would naturally be able to upgrade their weapons and equipment slowly, and the technical content of breech-loading weapons is too high, so it would just take a few more years.

No big country is willing to be controlled by others in terms of weapons and equipment for a long time.Alexander II was not a mediocre person. If he hadn't been short of money, he probably would have started the military industry system long ago.

It's a pity that the Russians were out of luck. The last weapon update encountered the Near East War.In order to save time, arcane equipment has become the mainstream in the army.

This time the weapons were updated and encountered the Prussian-Prussian War.War will not wait for anyone, and Franz is going to forcefully sell arcane equipment to the Russians again.

Want to get rid of restrictions, do you know that the tsarist government has an army of one million?How much will it cost to re-equip so many troops and change the production line of weapons?

If you don't have money, just keep using it.Anyway, in terms of cost, directly buying the arcane equipment system will not be much more expensive than independent research and development.

As for doing so, will it lose its independent research and development capabilities?This is not what the Russian bureaucrats care about. It is better to think about how to make a fortune than to think about so many things.

After two or three consecutive generations of adopting the Austrian military industry system, the Russian weapons R&D personnel are almost useless.If we want to get rid of this situation in the future, we have to re-train talents.

Franz understands why Alexander II has always been upset with Austria. No one would be happy about this kind of thing.

It's a pity that this is an overt conspiracy, just like he plotted against Austria.Knowing that it was a pit, Franz would throw real money in it, and the same is true of the Tsarist government now.