Holy Roman Empire

Our shipbuilding budget for this year has been exhausted.To continue to maintain the current advantage, another 1000 million pounds must be allocated. said Edward, Lord of the Admiralty

The 1000 million pounds of this era is not the 1000 million pounds of later generations.There are no more than ten countries in the world whose annual fiscal revenue exceeds 1000 million pounds.

Dare to ask for so much shipbuilding funds in one breath, except for the Royal Navy, there should be no second party.

France and Austria can indeed afford this amount of money, but these two are land-power countries, and they must also take into account the army while developing the navy.

If it weren't for the British clamoring for the two-power standard, the Paris government would not suddenly increase the funding for shipbuilding and detonate this arms race.

In this era, the total tonnage of the French and Austrian navy was almost the same as that of the Royal Navy, and the number of ironclad ships was even more.

Facing the clamor of the British, Napoleon III felt insulted, and even Franz of Vienna could not bear this kind of provocation.

Well, this is not just their personal feelings, but more precisely, it is the common feelings of the people of the two countries.

Everyone wants to save face, and the radical groups of the people are clamoring to catch up with the Royal Navy.Then there is nothing to say, an arms race!

It just so happened that Napoleon III needed to divert the attention of the people so that they would not always be staring at the mess of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Napoleon III had the confidence to provoke an arms race.In the past decade or so, the French economy has embarked on a fast track. Last year, its fiscal revenue surpassed that of the British by more than 800 million pounds. (including the Kingdom of Sardinia)

Of course, this is only local fiscal revenue.If you add the colonies, the British are even more powerful. You must know that India's fiscal revenue alone is as high as more than 5000 million pounds, and the British's arrogance can be seen in general.

However, Napoleon III did not hesitate, and he was not prepared to let the French navy surpass the Royal Navy now, as long as the French and Austrian navies combined can break the two-power standard clamored by the British.

Behind the anger, it also involves international political status.Once the two-power standard of the Royal Navy is realized, the British will gain absolute dominance in overseas affairs.

This is something that France and Austria cannot tolerate.The French navy is the second largest in the world, and the proud Parisian people petition every day, and Napoleon III must be the leader.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Aggarwal gave Edward a hard look, and he had already greeted his family members in his heart.

In his view, the Admiralty is a typical incompetent family who doesn't know that daily necessities are expensive. The "two-strong standard" looks very attractive, but in fact it is looking for excitement when you have nothing to do.

The financial power of the British is indeed the strongest in the world, but France and Austria are not weak, and there is not a huge gap in their strength.

Just like the two-strong standard clamored by the British in the original time and space, it has also been challenged, and even more severe.

Both France and Austria have the potential to challenge the hegemony of the Royal Navy. If it were not for the development of the army, the Royal Navy's maritime hegemony would have been unstable long ago.

Agarwal said with a gloomy face: "No, this year's budget has already been determined, and now the budget is suddenly increased by 1000 million pounds. The Ministry of Finance does not have this money. If you want funds, go to Congress yourself!"

1000 million pounds is indeed a lot, but for the London government, it is actually squeezed out.Obviously Agarwal is not going to save money and raise funds for the Navy.

The Secretary of the Navy Edward said angrily: "The Royal Navy is related to the national destiny of Britain. If we cannot guarantee absolute superiority, once France and Austria catch up, we will regret it!"

There are not so many reasons. The main purpose of the Navy's "two-power standard" is for funding.The threats of the navies of France and Austria are actually far behind by a hundred and eight thousand miles.

Everyone is a colonial empire, most of the navies are scattered all over the world, and all regions are suppressed by the Royal Navy, so there is no threat.

Even if the French and Austrian navy join forces, they are actually probably not the opponents of the Royal Navy.The problem of cooperation between the navies of the two countries on the battlefield cannot be solved.In the case of fighting each other, it is not the opponent of the Royal Navy at all.

Minister of Finance Agarwal did not buy it and said: "So you go to Congress for money! Now the Ministry of Finance does not have this budget. If you want to temporarily increase the huge budget, Congress must approve it."

Without the support of the cabinet, the Admiralty alone will not be so easy to persuade Congress.Even if they were sensible and moved with emotion, and waited to convince the big men in Congress to agree, the warships built by the French would have been in service long ago.

Just as Edward was about to defend himself, he was stopped by Prime Minister John Russell.It is a common thing to compete for funds. Basically, the Ministry of Finance and various departments have to confront each other once a year.

There was nothing wrong with Agarwal's behavior, and he was completely following the rules.If the Admiralty temporarily increases its budget, it will definitely go to Congress.It is also in line with the regulations that the Ministry of Finance is unwilling to ask Congress for funds.

"The Ministry of the Navy will submit a bill to the Congress on the issue of increasing the funding for shipbuilding. The time is set for next Monday, and we will support the proposal.

Sir Edward, the Admiralty must be fully prepared to be questioned by members of Congress. Is there a problem? said John Russell

This is a necessary process. As long as Congress agrees to increase the budget, the Ministry of Finance will always be able to solve the funding problem through loans, bond issuance, or tax increases.

The arms race has only just begun, and the London government is not yet feeling the pinch.In the later stage, they will not be so easy.

Lord of the Admiralty Edward replied: "No!"

……

Chapter 95 Six Six Treaty

The arms race in Europe kicked off, and the negotiations between France and Austria came to an end.Napoleon III wanted to establish Greater France, and Franz also wanted to establish the Great Shinra Empire, and both sides had their own calculations.

There is no doubt that strategic conflict between France and Austria is almost doomed.But the time for the conflict to break out is definitely not now.

Before the establishment of the empire, France and Austria were still allies, and they needed to join forces to share international pressure. This was a cooperation with tigers for skin.

On June 1866, 6, Weissenberg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the new Holy Roman Empire, and Abraham, Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, signed the Treaty of Six Six.

The content of the treaty includes: 1. France and the new Holy Roman Empire formally form an alliance, and the alliance is valid for ten years;

2. The two countries recognize each other's spheres of influence, mainly in the actual control area;

3. Austria sold the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, the Papal State, Tuscany and other Italian states to France at a price of 2000 million Aegis (2.5 million francs);

4. France sold the French Balkans to Austria for 2 million francs (1600 million Aegis), and sold the colonies at the intersection of the two countries in West Africa to the new Holy Roman Empire for 5000 million francs;

5. Austria acquiesces in France's annexation of Belgium, the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, the Papal States, Tuscany and other regions. As a price, France will not interfere with Austria's unification of Germany;

6. The two countries divide the sphere of influence on the African continent:

The French gained most of North Africa and parts of West Africa;

(Remarks: Mainly Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Niger, Zade and parts of Sudan...)

The New Holy Roman Empire gets most of West and Central Africa, parts of North Africa, and South Africa;

(mainly today: Libya, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Central Africa, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zad and parts of Sudan...)

Remarks: Most of East Africa and South Africa that have not yet been brought into the sphere of influence of the two countries will belong to whoever grabs it first. The two sides recognize each other's expanded sphere of influence on the African continent.

……

There is no doubt that this June [-] treaty is full of compromises and uncertainties. The alliance has only been formed for ten years, and both sides are mentally prepared to turn their faces in the future.

The core conflict, the Rhineland region, has not been clearly stipulated in the treaty, which has buried hidden dangers for the future of the two countries.

Of course, there is no verbal agreement in the treaty, and whoever occupies it belongs to whom.In other words, whoever has the biggest fist belongs to whom.

How to determine the specifics? When the French empire is completed, or the German region is unified first, it is time to solve the problem.

In Franz's view, apart from sharing the diplomatic pressure with the French, this treaty only divided the interests of the African continent. France and Austria each occupied one-third of the African continent.

If it weren't for the lack of strength of the two countries in East Africa and South Africa, maybe in the end they would add two to one and directly carve up the African continent.

Enclosure is just an agreement. The African continent is not small. Even if it is one-third, it is more than 1000 million square kilometers.

Franz sent so many immigrants there, the actual control area on the African continent is less than 500 million square kilometers, and the rest is only ruled in name.

Not to mention the French, even if Napoleon III wanted to immigrate from the Balkan Peninsula, the number of immigrants in the French African colonies was only a million. It is okay to control the coastal areas, and there is no need to think about it further.

Austria's colonization is okay, even if there are colonial strongholds from various countries, it is not a climate, and it is not difficult to get rid of them.

The French are busy, for example: Egypt, did the British agree?Another example: Morocco region, but also to ask Spain and John Bull agree.

It makes sense that East Africa and South Africa are not divided for the time being.The French really can't swallow it. It's easy to sign a treaty, but it's a joke if they don't have the strength to make it a reality.

Dividing the African continent is just a self-indulgence between France and Austria behind closed doors. In fact, this plan is impossible to realize before the British, Portuguese, Spaniards, and Dutch are not kicked out.

For Franz, the Dutch can be ignored, and the Spaniards can also be ignored. These two countries have a small sphere of influence on the African continent, and they have nothing to do with the new Holy Roman Empire.

The treaty included Austria for a while, and the new Holy Roman Empire for a while. This is a European tradition. There is no way, otherwise there will be no legal effect.

The suzerainty of the Italian state is in Austria. Although this is only acquiesced by everyone, since the French have now recognized it, they can only buy it from Austria.

Similarly, Franz intends to merge the French Balkans into Austria, which can only be paid for by Austria itself, otherwise other states will have opinions.

The colony was owned by the new Holy Roman Empire, so it was naturally purchased by the central government.Although for Franz it was a matter of left-handedness and right-handedness, what had to be done had to be done in accordance with legal procedures.

All the states in the empire benefited from the colonies, and the cost of colonization was naturally shared by everyone.

After the localization of African colonies, more problems will be encountered, and now these systems must be clarified.

Franz is still very satisfied with this treaty.Austria had long since lost control of the Italian state, or had never really had control.

If it really annexed the Italian region, within ten years, Austria would become a replica of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which should be called the "Austrian-Italian Empire."

You must know that Italy has a population of more than 500 million, and it is still a nation with a unified cultural tradition. Franz has already experienced how difficult this assimilation is.

After so many years, Lombardy Venetia still has a strong Italian flavor. In contrast, other parts of Austria have basically changed under the influence of Germanic culture.

There is no way, it is easy for them to learn German and German, just send the children to school, but it will take a lot of time to wash away the local customs and culture.

In any case, the imprint of Italy will fade a bit with each generation. According to the current progress, it will take two or three generations before the Austrian Italy region can basically complete national integration.

Many other nationalities in Austria have become Germans.

For example: Czechs have long been assimilated culturally. Except for the difference in language and writing, there is no difference between the local life and customs influenced by the nobles and the Germans.Now that the language and characters are unified, the last problem no longer exists.

Franz has nothing to do with more than 2000 million Italians, so he can only send them to harm the French.Regardless of how powerful the French Empire can become in the short term, as long as France and Italy merge together, sooner or later they will follow in the footsteps of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Regardless of the fact that the total population of France is now more than 400 million, this is the result of the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia and a population of more than 600 million.The main ethnic groups in France now include: French, Corsicans, Bretons, and Italians.

It's just that the French, Corsicans, and Bretons have already completed national integration, while the newly joined Italians are out of tune with them.

Annexing a few more Italian states, then the largest nation in Napoleon III's Great French Empire will become Italians.

I don't think he would care about this question. Given that the emperor himself is an Italian, is it still a problem for the Italians to become the largest nation?

It is still too early to talk about this issue. For Napoleon III, the biggest problem now is how to annex these Italian states, rather than considering the troubles caused by the annexation.

It is impossible to swallow it raw, and European countries will not let this happen.France is not the Shenluo Empire, and several states can be added.

In terms of law, the Kingdom of Sardinia is still an independent country. They share the country with the French and are not part of France.

Although the Paris government controls the internal affairs and foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Sardinia, it still cannot change this.The French have a long way to go if they want to merge the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Franz doesn't know what Napoleon III thinks, but Franz has already helped to complete the plan for annexing the Italian state.

When the conditions are ripe, it will appear in the hands of Napoleon III.The method is very simple: first form the Italian Federation, let the Italian states join it, and then let the Italian Federation and France form a new federal empire.

Does it look very familiar?That's right, this is what Franz specially designed for Napoleon III with reference to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Anyway, no one has experienced it before, and no one knows how pitted the dual empire will be.Just like the original time and space, the formation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is considered to be the great revival of the Habsburg Dynasty.

In addition, Napoleon III did not have legal authority in Italy at all, and there were very few civil supporters. Now he can only rely on force to ascend to power, and this hidden danger is even greater.

Prime Minister Felix said worriedly: "Your Majesty, we have obtained the French Balkans, and there are still a series of problems to be dealt with later, and a bad one will lead to even greater troubles.

There was a clear agreement in the Russian Omnibus Treaty that the current French Balkans were assigned to the Russians.Although we bought it from the French, the express provisions in the treaty are not a small problem.

Especially the Dardanelles, the Russians have always been eyeing.Now they are busy with the Prussian-Russian War, and they may not say anything. In the future, these will be hidden dangers in Russia-Austria relations. "

The annexation of the French Balkans is of course a good thing for Austria.Not only did he pull out a nail behind him, but he also extended his power to the Aegean region.

But the troubles brought about are not small. Austria has acted as the gatekeeper of Europe and blocked the Russians in the Black Sea. The Russia-Austria alliance is bound to be divided.

With the ambitious France and the shit-stirring John Bull in the west, and the Russians in the east, the future of Austria will be difficult.

Franz said indifferently: "It doesn't matter, this is a deal between us and the French. If the Russians are interested in these areas, they can pay for them and multiply the price by 10."

We can also accept the exchange of land. If the Tsarist government wants to enter the Mediterranean, let them pay the due price!

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can contact the Russians, except for the Polish region, which we don't want, other regions bordering our mainland are acceptable. "

This is nonsense. If the tsarist government was so rich, it would have conquered the entire Balkan Peninsula in one go. The Russo-Prussian War ended last year.

At that time, the Polish region had not been lost, and most of the military rations could be solved locally. There was a waterway connecting Austria, so logistics was not a problem.As long as you are willing to spend money, the Prussians would have already knelt down if the army of millions passed all the way.

If you don't have money, you can only replace the territory. Don't look at the great business of the Russians, but the territory bordering Austria, except for Russia's Poland, is only West Ukraine.This is almost blatantly telling the Russians that they have taken a fancy to the West Ukraine region.

Whether the tsarist government agrees with how to exchange the land is not the point.Anyway, in the past 20 years, it is impossible for the Russians to make a comeback.

20 years is enough to change a lot of things. By then, Austria's African strategy will almost be completed. If there is no accident, the French will also jump into the pit.

If you're lucky, maybe the French will crash themselves.Napoleon III was almost 60 years old, and his health was not very good. The original time and space died in 1873. How long he can live now is also a question mark.

He had many illegitimate children, but only one legitimate son. Born in 1856, if Napoleon III did not live a few more years, his son would not be able to control the empire.

The Dual Empire is not something that ordinary people can play around with. If they don't have enough prestige and skills to suppress the opposition forces, it means that if there is a problem, there will be a problem.

In Paris, the Holy Land of Revolution, where any trouble could lead to revolution, it would be a disaster if the monarch was young.

Even if there is no disaster, you can also create a disaster artificially, for example: supporting the independence of the Italians, or the sudden outbreak of the French-Austrian war.

As long as France gets down and gets rid of the crisis of fighting on two fronts, Russia and Austria can really get along well.

Chapter 96 Win-Win Cooperation

The "Treaty of June [-]" obviously cannot be seen in the light. If the news of France and Austria joining forces to carve up the European continent is spread, the London government shouldn't go crazy?

It is not such a balancing act for the European continent to maintain a balance.If the Great France and the Great Shenluo Empire were allowed to appear, the European continent would really be a tripartite confrontation.Because by that time, the European continent may not find a fourth country.