Holy Roman Empire

Don't look like the losses of the Russians in the Near East War, but the Tsarist government nominally won and occupied Constantinople and Bulgaria.

Despite the ruins of Constantinople, the Bulgarians still wanted independence, which did not detract from the political success of the Tsarist government.

Not the federal government, they failed strategically.There is no way to shirk responsibility.

"Why can't you bear it?"

At some point, Secretary of State Safar appeared behind Lincoln.

Lincoln shook his head and said, "No, when I first entered here, I knew it was a mess. It's just that I thought I could handle it and reunify this country.

However, I overestimated myself and underestimated the enemy.Now I have to leave in despair, maybe I will be the first president to go to prison. "

Safar comforted: "Before this, there may have been such a possibility, but from the moment you handed in your resignation, this possibility did not exist.

The worst outcome is that the next president signs an amnesty.The Republican Party won't watch us in, that's the rule of the game. "

The president of the United States has the right of amnesty. Except for being impeached, the president can grant amnesty to anyone, including the former president, without the permission of any institution.

According to the rules of the political game, the president can resign early in exchange for the next president pardoning them.

"Amnesty" means that all the previous charges have been written off. If he resigns early, impeachment will naturally be out of the question.

Before the signing of the armistice treaty, Lincoln needs to take the blame, and Congress will naturally not impeach him.He resigned himself as soon as the armistice was signed, ratified by the Republican-dominated Congress, and impeachment was out of the question.

Because of the independence of the southern region, the vitality of the Democratic Party has been greatly damaged, and there is no way to compete with the Republican Party in a short period of time.

Most of the next president will still come from the Republican Party. No party wants its president to be convicted and imprisoned to "make history", so the Republican Party will naturally work hard to keep Lincoln.

Even if the Democrats win the election, they will be pardoned out of political considerations.

This is the rule of the game in American politics. Even in the 21st century, no American president has been imprisoned for a crime.

Normally, there would be no prosecution. "Poker Cabinet" President Harding, corrupt President Grant, "Watergate" President Nixon, etc., all landed safely in the end.

Now some people are clamoring to sue, but in fact it is only because of the need for election propaganda.Activists are just being used, politicians are not going to break the game.

Even if Lincoln's resignation does not mean that the Lincoln government can leave, it will not leave until the power is handed over.

This is also the end of his term of office, otherwise the president will resign and the vice president will be replaced.If he is still on the stage, the amnesty has already come out.

……

Franz has no interest in the internal power struggle in the United States. He is still immersed in the joy of the division of the United States and cannot extricate himself.

Once split, there may be a second time.From the moment the federal government recognized the independence of the South, it meant that Lincoln's patch had lost its effect.

This is the pot of the Declaration of Independence. At the beginning, the states were free to join, and there was no prohibition on withdrawal. There was no legal problem with the independence of the South.

Lincoln passed a law prohibiting the secession of the Union.But this is hindsight, and it has not been recognized by the state governments at all, so this law is nothing.

After a civil war, if some federal states become independent again, can the federal government organize force to suppress it?

We must know that in this civil war, if the southern government hadn't taken the initiative, it is still unknown whether the federal government could organize an army.

In this era, the states in the United States have too much power, and they all have the ability to control the federal government.For example: prohibiting federal troops from entering the state.

Without the cooperation of the states, it would be difficult for the Washington government to even mobilize the domestic army, let alone organize the army.

Now because of the civil war, the prestige of the federal government has been greatly reduced, and its binding force on the states has further declined.This means that the United States will no longer be a threat for a long time to come.

If the federal government is a loose alliance, then the confederation government has to go one step further, and the rights of each joined state are greater than that of the states under the new Holy Roman Empire.

The Confederate government can be understood in this way: each state is an independent small kingdom, and everyone has formed an alliance together, which is the current Confederate government.

Chapter 76 继续挖坑

Schönbrunn Palace, Franz who is in a good mood has been pleasing to everyone recently.The end of the American Civil War meant that for the next 50 years, Austria did not have to worry about threats from the United States.

Such a long time is enough for him to run the African continent.Although the natural conditions are not as good as the chosen country, it also has the foundation of a great country.

Compared with this long-term plan, the European strategy has become a secondary strategy.Franz does not think that he has the aura of the protagonist, who can unify the European continent and rebuild the Roman Empire.

The Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Empire seem to be just two more words, but in fact they are very different.

Since the defeat of Napoleon the Great, European countries have given up the idea of ​​​​unifying the European continent, and even the tsarist government dared not think so.

Even if Europe could be unified, Franz would not do it.This is a sinkhole big enough to bury any empire.You can't just dig a hole and bury yourself just for the sake of fashion.

Africa is not the best choice, but it is the best choice for Austria.Franz wouldn't mind hitting South America if he could.

The reason is very simple. South America has a superior natural environment, rich resources and low difficulty in development. There are no big countries, and the land is sparsely populated.

On a land of 1784 million square kilometers, there are only a mere 2000 million people, most of whom are Indians.

If Spain can be revived, then South America is a godsend for them.

Most of the countries in South America became independent from the Spanish colonies. It has only been a few decades, and the royalists have not disappeared, and they can fight back.

If you know, you know, Franz has no plans to speak out.The Spaniards are still busy fighting internally, so they have no time to think about it so much.When the infighting is over, Spain does not have the strength to return to South America.

The fact that the Spaniards can't do it doesn't mean that other countries can't do it either.

Needless to say, the British have too many colonies. If they want to manage them carefully, North America is the best choice.

During the Civil War, it was the best time for them to do it.With Canada as the base, seize the west coast of the United States.

There is no doubt that the proud British are still immersed in the splendor of the Victorian era.In addition to worrying about breaking the balance of the continent, there is no decent strategy.

It was the French who really made Franz afraid. The France of Napoleon III's era was not the republic that lived on its laurels.

Many people may think that deceiving France to South America is beneficial to Austria's African strategy.In fact, on the contrary, this means that Franz's plans for Africa will be exposed in advance.

European countries are not fools, and they will certainly not watch the rise of a behemoth without being indifferent.Once the hidden strategy is exposed, all European countries will hold back, and the plan will naturally not be implemented.

It is impossible to keep it secret forever, but the longer the time drags on, the stronger Austria's strength on the mainland will be.If the Austrian African continent has tens of millions of people, even if the strategy is exposed, there is nothing the countries can do.

Elimination of threats is important, but the price must also be considered.Haven't European countries seen the rise of the United States in history?

But what if you see it?Before there is no crisis to everyone's core interests, who will start a war recklessly?

War also requires costs, and the tsarist government has a deep understanding of this.First came the Near East War, then the Prussian-Prussian War, and a European overlord was about to be dragged down.

In history, the British did not intervene in the American Civil War. Is it really a strategic mistake of the London government?

I'm afraid not at all.After the failure of forming an intervening coalition force, many people in the London government are worried that they will fall into the quagmire of war again.

In this time and space, if Austria hadn't contributed to it, it had intervened in the American Civil War from the very beginning, causing both sides to suffer losses; and it had used the method of binding interests to prevent the British from getting off the ship. I am afraid that the London government would still hesitate to intervene armed .

The financial resources of any country are not unlimited.Franz can clearly feel that since the suppression of the Indian rebellion, the British colonization movement overseas has slowed down.

In other words, after the Near East War ended, the British colonial expansion slowed down.The colonial activities of the French on the African continent fell behind Austria, and there is also a clear causal relationship with the Near East War.

Everyone's money does not come from strong winds. Having money in the British and French financial circles does not mean that it is the government's money.

Maybe they can raise more funds in war years, but in peacetime, the government revenue is so much.

The money was spent in the war, and naturally there were cuts elsewhere.

Overseas colonization is an industry that requires a large amount of capital investment. When the government cuts expenses, it will inevitably be affected.

You can't borrow endlessly to colonize!Borrowing money also needs to be repaid.The currency in this era is linked to gold and silver, and there is almost no depreciation. It is not so easy to repay the debt.

Therefore, Franz decided to dig a few more holes to consume the financial resources of Britain and France, so as to save them from being so active.

Just like the Russians, after the Near East War, they lived in peace for ten years, and just recovered a bit of vitality, and then encountered the Polish uprising and the Prussian-Prussian War.

Needless to say, the tsarist government should be very peaceful in the next 20 years.During this period, even if they wanted to fight, it was difficult to raise war funds.

Franz pointed to the top-secret document on the table and ordered: "Tayron, deploy according to the plan above."

Picking up the document and briefly reading the contents above, Tai Lun replied blankly: "Yes, Your Majesty."

This is his greatest strength, he will never question it, no matter what Franz's order is, he will execute it immediately.

The current intelligence organization is no longer the loose organization that it was back then.At present, the intelligence organization is divided into three parts, namely three data statistics studios, affiliated to the National Security Agency, but they are only responsible to Franz.

The First Data Statistics Studio, a public intelligence organization composed of aristocratic networks, mainly collects news with a low degree of confidentiality, and occasionally guides public opinion.

This is used to attract the attention of the outside world, and it mainly depends on the cooperation of the local nobles.Investigate some general issues, and occasionally wipe out revolutionaries.

The latter two studios are the core of the intelligence organization.The business he is engaged in is also very wide, including: collecting domestic and foreign intelligence, assassination, creating troubles...

The second studio focuses on domestic intelligence, and the third studio focuses on overseas intelligence.The scope of business of the two studios is the same, and the overlapping of powers is serious, which also means to let them supervise each other.

Tai Lun, the head of intelligence, mainly coordinates the relationship between the three intelligence studios and implements Franz's orders.

This is a practical need, and the confidentiality requirements of intelligence work are very high.Franz didn't dare to treat others as fools. If he directly communicated with the three studios, wouldn't that tell everyone that the three studios are independent intelligence organizations?

In order to reduce the sense of existence of intelligence organizations, when they are active in the country, they only collect intelligence.Even if it is a special situation and action must be taken, it is placed on the people of the government department.

On the surface, the law enforcement in the country is the police, and intelligence organizations have never appeared in the public's sight.

Ordinary people don't even know that Franz has an intelligence organization in his hands, and the top government officials don't know the internal structure of the intelligence organization. To the outside world, the three studios are all one organization.

Chapter 77 Armageddon

After entering the 19th century, the global village has become more and more closely connected, and the international situation has even affected the whole body.

With the end of the American Civil War, the energies of the four countries of Britain, France, Occidental and West were concentrated in Europe, and the pressure on the Tsarist government increased greatly.

The London government has already begun planning to intervene in the Prussian-Prussian War, attempting to use diplomatic means to force the Tsarist government to make concessions and attack the prestige of the Russians.

It has to be admitted that John Bull's diplomacy is powerful, and the Paris government, which had just been won over by the Russians, wavered again, and the French and Russian loans were withheld.

This cannot be entirely blamed on the French. The performance of the Russian army on the battlefield was too disappointing.

Everyone thought that the tsarist government had a maritime advantage and would mobilize troops to land and stab the Prussians in the back. However, due to the problem of strategic materials, the tsarist government was unable to organize a decent attack.

International military observers are now attacking the tsarist government's strategies and dismissing them as worthless.

Alexander II was very wronged. The war broke out so suddenly that they had no time to prepare.

In St. Petersburg, looking at the increasingly severe international situation, Alexander II made a decision-a quick decision.

The tsarist government's ability to keep secrets was limited to less than ten people, and when the number of insiders exceeded this number, it was almost like a sieve.

After receiving this news, Franz's first thought was to be in trouble.According to the current situation, the final winner of the steady fight will definitely be the Russians.

Regardless of the fact that the Prussians had an advantage in the exchange ratio, they still paid 8.2 losses during the half-year war, of which 4.3 were killed in battle, and 3.9 were retired or captured due to injuries.

The losses of the allied Poles were even worse, losing at least 15 troops.Because of the internal chaos of the Polish Provisional Government, and he was not sure about the specific losses, it was naturally impossible for Franz to know.

The combined losses of the Russians and the Danes were almost equal to the sum of Puppo's.

If the war continues, at most half a year, the Polish uprising army will collapse, and then the Kingdom of Prussia will fight alone.

If Franz were to command this war, the Polish insurgents would be caught and beaten, and the navy would be used to attack the Kingdom of Prussia, weakening their war potential.

decisive battle?After regaining the Warsaw area, taking control of several rivers in Poland, and opening up the water transportation line to Austria, you can still fight as you want?

As long as the supply of logistical materials is sufficient, the combat effectiveness of the Russian army is not bad at all.With numerical superiority, the enemy can be easily defeated.

It is very unwise militarily to fight decisively now.Of course, Alexander II made this decision mainly for political reasons.

The pressure from domestic conservatives, the rampant anti-Russian forces in the world, coupled with financial pressure, put the tsarist government under great pressure.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg suggested: "Your Majesty, the Russians have asked us for help, hoping that we can complete the order as soon as possible.

If nothing else, after the delivery of this batch of weapons and equipment, it will be time for them to fight the Prussians.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that part of the active equipment can be transferred to the Russians in advance, so that this decisive battle can break out before the winter in Poland. "

Franz's eyes lit up, this time "winter" really came at the right time.No matter who wins or loses in this war, both sides have lost the ability to continue to attack after winter.

When we fight again next year, everyone will almost regain their strength.No, it should be said that the Russians can regain their strength, and the Prussians will almost die if they lose a decisive battle.

The active-duty equipment is only for everyone's face. The reserve equipment is also considered active-duty equipment, and there is nothing wrong with it.

Franz asked suspiciously: "Is there enough time? It is already September, and it will be October when it is shipped to the Russians. They still have time for a decisive battle?"

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg replied: "It is true that the time is a bit tight, but it is barely enough.

The Russian troops close to our border area can change their equipment first, and they can launch a counterattack first.The Russian army in East Prussia will change their outfits later, as long as they are willing to suffer casualties, this is not a problem.

The pressure on the frontline Russian generals is very high. They cannot withstand the domestic pressure, and the decisive battle will definitely break out before the end of the year.

Winter is coming, the big deal is that this decisive battle will end without a problem.No matter what, they must fight a battle and give an explanation to the conservatives in the country. "

Franz began to observe a moment of silence for the Russian troops at the front.Even if they win the war, they will suffer heavy losses; if they lose the war, the losses will naturally be even greater.

Alexander II chose this time for a decisive battle, probably because he had no choice but to do so.If the decisive battle was two months earlier, in case of losing the war, the enemy could drive straight in, and they would suffer heavy losses.

It doesn't matter now, winter has already entered many parts of the Russian Empire.It will probably be November or February after this battle is over. Attacking Russia in this season will definitely be boring.