Holy Roman Empire

Our sphere of influence already borders Ethiopia. This African country has such a large territory that the British cannot swallow it in one bite. The Colonial Department plans to take a share. "

This share of the pie is probably more than just a slice of the pie.Even if he swallowed most of Ethiopia in one gulp, Franz would not be surprised at all.

The British want to contain Austria's expansion on the African continent because Austria's local strength is too strong.

If not restricted, sooner or later they will be kicked out.Anyone who knows the situation knows how unsatisfactory the colonial company developed by Britain on the African continent has been.

It's not that they don't work hard, but that life is really difficult.After finally establishing a colonial stronghold, it will soon be attacked by a modern African army.

The attackers were all native Africans, so naturally they had nothing to do with Austria.Without evidence, there is nothing the London government can do.

Sending troops to encircle and suppress them is nonsense.How to find the attacker in the vast African continent?

In order to retaliate, the British also organized black troops, and both sides killed in the dark.

In the end, it was the British who couldn't hold on first, not because they were not good at fighting, but mainly because there were few British people.

At its peak, thousands of soldiers were killed and wounded every year, and many British colonial companies went bankrupt because they could not pay pensions.

In this case, the British colonies on the African continent will inevitably shrink.It was not until the two countries reached an agreement that the situation improved.

The British are good at summing up experience, and they soon discovered that they would suffer only if they went deep into the inland jungle.It is still very safe to establish strongholds in coastal areas and rely on fortifications to guard them.

Now the British are expanding by building forts along the way. If there are fortifications, they will not be afraid of sneak attacks by black troops.

This was all a secret struggle, and it was impossible for the Austrian army to end in person, and the two sides were at a stalemate.

Because of the cost, the expansion speed of the British on the African continent was curbed, and in many cases they were forced to give up their sphere of influence.After all, the Austrian family was not the only one who did the tricks, and the French did not do this kind of thing less.

There are many enemies, and many times after being attacked by surprise, even the British can't figure out who did it.Planting and framing are all routine methods, and everyone has no morals in the struggle for colonization.

This is why the British are eager to occupy Ethiopia.As long as they control this place, they will have a large number of cannon fodder troops to fight the underground black war with Austria.

Franz said without changing his face: "Secretly send people to sell arms to Ethiopia, so that they can resist more fiercely."

Chapter 112 The Trouble of Creditors

It is very unreliable to expect the African people to fight against the British invaders.If they really had such a strong fighting power, the colonial era would have ended long ago.

However, the pit still needs to be dug. No matter how effective it is, it can at least delay the expansion of the British.

The expansion of any country has limits, and the British Empire, the world's first colonial empire, is no exception.

Population is a flaw, and the British Isles add up to 3000 million people.Ranked last among the four major powers in Europe, with the completion of the industrialization of France and Austria, everyone's strength comparison is undergoing surprising changes.

There is no need to wait until the twentieth century. The British have now become the third largest economy in Europe and the fifth largest in the world.

Of course, they are still the world's number one industrial power.In this era's total economic output, agriculture still occupies a very important proportion, so that the British are still behind India.

There is nothing surprising about it. A large number of people does not necessarily mean great power, at least a large economic aggregate.

It is a pity that the total economic volume is not equal to the national strength. It is industry that determines the strength of a country. The British Empire is still the most powerful country in the world.

However, they suffered a loss in the expansion. The population of the UK is less than two-thirds of France (including Sardinia) and less than half of Austria (including the Balkans).Among them are millions of Irish who are alienated from Germany, thinking about independence every day.

The population is insufficient, but the colony area of ​​the British is large. On average, each British has a colony of more than 1 square kilometer.

It is not difficult to understand that after the Near East war, the government of London began to avoid war in Europe.

It is not easy to maintain this colonial empire, thousands of colonists fall every year.If there are several more major battles, the British will not be able to hold on.

This is the opportunity in Franz's eyes, causing troubles for the British in the colonies. On the surface, it is inconspicuous, but in fact it adds up and slowly consumes their manpower.

This Ethiopian war is a good opportunity.As long as it can bring tens of thousands of casualties to the British, Franz is content.

There is no such thing as defeating the British. The British Army is not the Italian Army. This kind of joke of the century cannot be made.

……

On the way of the British army to Ethiopia, the London Peace Conference has changed, and the Russian diplomacy is really not flattering.

Sweden did support them, but not because of the Russians, but mainly because of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Helping relatives or not, the Kingdom of Denmark is a member of the soon-to-be-established Nordic Federation, and Sweden, the old man, naturally has to take care of their emotions.

From now on, the Kingdom of Prussia has added another enemy, the soon-to-be-formed Nordic Confederation.

Of course, the threat of this enemy is very small. The Danes cannot occupy the dominant position of the new government.

The German Federal Empire did feel the threat of Prussia, but it was useless, the Russians failed to get their support, and finally they chose neutrality.

Needless to say, the rest of the countries, the neutrality of Switzerland is what people call: Eternal neutral country, no need for public relations, and the rest of the countries are all supporters of Prussia.

I almost forgot that the Principality of Montenegro and Greece also supported the Russians.The former has been supported by the Russians, and the latter is just for holding thighs.

Prussia is thousands of miles away, and it doesn't matter if you offend it.And the Russians are close at hand, and the Greeks can't afford to offend them.

From the perspective of supporting countries, the Russians are not only at a disadvantage in number, but also incomparable in weight.

In order to prevent the Russians from losing too badly, Wesenberg had to bite the bullet and propose to reduce the number of negotiators.

Except for the three mediating countries of Britain, France and Austria, only the participating countries attended the war, and the representatives of the remaining countries became audience seats.

Fortunately, the Russian representative Clarence Ivanov was smart enough to send the four Central Asian countries and the Eastern Empire successively, and signed an armistice treaty.

The prestige of the Russians is still there, and after satisfying their own interests and needs, these countries decisively chose to remain silent.As for the Prussian allies, sorry, they have never formed an alliance, so naturally there is no ally obligation.

Seeing that the momentum was wrong, the Ottoman Empire also retreated.The Russians gave up the territory they had claimed in the Caucasus in the previous war, and backed off a bit, and the two countries ended the war. (Remarks: present-day Georgia)

By July, only Prussia and Poland remained.Compared with the concessions in other regions, the attitude of the Tsarist government in Eastern Europe is completely different.

First of all, regarding the definition of the Polish region, the tsarist government did not recognize it, and handing over the Lithuanian region and parts of Belarus was their limit.

However, the Prussians still wanted the Latvian region and did not ask for Estonia. It was too close to St. Petersburg, and the Berlin government was afraid of stimulating the Russians.

Representatives of Pupo also made territorial demands on the entire Belarusian region. Obviously, they have reached an agreement to carve up this region.

The Polish representative also made territorial claims on the Ukrainian region, mainly the Warren Oblast extending all the way to the Kyiv region.Without parts of Lviv, Lower West Ukraine was Austrian territory in this day and age.

If these conditions are agreed, it will mean that the Russian Empire will lose 86 square kilometers of land, more than 2100 million people, and 30.00% of its industry.

At the same time, the Russian Empire will also lose its population advantage over Austria. After all, Central Asia has become independent, and the Far East and the Caucasus have given up a lot of land.

With less land, the population will naturally decrease.Fortunately, these areas are sparsely populated. Except for Central Asia, which has a population of 600 million, the other two places only have a population of 80 million.

Eastern Europe is different, this is the core area of ​​the Russian Empire.Any piece of territory is precious, and the tsarist government will naturally not give up easily.

The meeting reached a stalemate again, and representatives of Britain, France and Austria held a secret meeting.There is nothing embarrassing, weakening the Russians is what the three countries are happy to see.

After all, the Russian Empire is too huge. Once industrialization is completed, everyone's interests will be lost.

At the same time, France and Austria do not want to see the Kingdom of Prussia grow bigger. On this point, the attitude of the British is just the opposite. They want Prussia to block France and Austria.

The French wanted to support Poland, and Austria held the opposite attitude.

How can you tolerate others on the side of the couch.

In order to curb the rise of Poland, Austria did not hesitate to support Prussia's acquisition of Lithuania, blocking the access to the sea for the Poles.

This is also creating conflicts. The problem of estuary cannot be solved, and the relationship between Pubo will break down sooner or later.

Of course, they can also exchange land.Obviously, this is even more impossible. The Poles can't just exchange the Warsaw area for the sake of getting out to the sea, right?

The Kingdom of Prussia couldn't fight hard, and didn't get any benefits in the end.Geographical location determines that expansion to Lithuania is their only choice.

The contradictions between Britain, France and Austria made the negotiations more complicated.

In the summer, the smell of gunpowder in Eastern Europe became stronger again. If there is still no agreement, the war will continue to break out.

Don't look at the advantage of the Prussians on the battlefield, but they have no money!Once the war continued to break out, it was the British who paid the money in the end.

The London government is not being taken advantage of, they are always calculating the cost.Now the goal of suppressing Russia has been accomplished, and if they continue to kill Russia, they will not gain much benefit.

Don't look at Russia and Austria as allies, allies are also dangerous when they are weak.If the Prussians are lucky and win another major battle, the tsarist government will collapse directly. Who knows if Austria will fall into trouble?

The shrewd British will not do it by spending their own money and effort and letting competitors pick up cheap things.

Moreover, they have already lent a lot of money to Prussia and Poland, and the debts continue to increase, and the possibility of becoming bad debts in the future is also increasing.

To end this war, Britain, France and Austria must first reach an agreement, otherwise everyone will stab each other and fan the flames inside, and a bad war will be ignited again.

For the sake of the pound, Raistlin also had to persuade France and Austria to join forces to put pressure on them to end the war.

Not only the British have this kind of worry, but France and Austria are also worried.Everyone is a creditor, but Britain and France mainly borrowed money from Pubo and Poland, while Austria loaned money to Russia.

At present, the British have borrowed the most, with a total amount of 3.2 million pounds; Austria is close behind, with a total debt of 2.4 million pounds; the French are the least, that is also 1.2 million pounds.

Whether you admit it or not, this war is actually a capital game.There is no doubt that the black hands behind the scenes are all winners, and everyone is working together.

Even if all these debts are dead, everyone can still recover the cost from other places.Of course, no one wants to do that.

Why should a loan that can be recovered become a dead debt?

Don't look at the debtor countries that have a lot of collateral. If something happens, these collaterals may not be able to be honored.

Take Poland as an example. If the Polish government is over, who will Britain and France ask for money?

In contrast, Austria still has an advantage.The distance is short, and if it doesn't work, you can cut a piece of land back to make up for the loss.

The French can also pay attention to the Rhineland region. Anyway, it is a reasonable excuse to pay back the debt.

The British are miserable.Even if others dare to cede land, the question is whether they dare?

Various taxes, minerals, and right-of-way mortgages are prerequisites for cashing in, and it is necessary to ensure the stability of the debtor country's regime.

This means that after the war, they continued to lend money to Pubo and Poland.Otherwise, the two poor governments will either declare bankruptcy and renege on their debts, or collapse due to the financial crisis.

Of course, the risk is directly proportional to the profit.In this war, the British earned blood.

Not only won the position of world hegemony, but also gained a few younger brothers, which ensured the security of India and completed the strategic layout of the Eurasian continent.

Chapter 113 I Was Trapped

Vienna, as a good neighbor, Franz has been paying close attention to the Russian civil war. Looking at the information collected in his hands, he knew that the Tsarist government was going to give in.

In order to ensure domestic stability, Alexander II held back and did not launch. As a result, the power of the rebels snowballed and grew, threatening the rule of the Tsarist government.

At this point, any shrewd monarch will choose to maintain his own rule first.Alexander II had to end the war before he could carry out internal cleanup and use political means to disintegrate the rebels.

The dog will jump over the wall and start the war before the end of the war. Once these moths collude with the Kingdom of Prussia, it is estimated that St. Petersburg will not be able to keep it.

In order to confuse these people, Alexander II has made several scapegoats, and it looks like the matter is over.

This kind of muddy method has no effect except to delay the time.Such a compromise is slow suicide for a country.

Franz had contacted Alexander II, and he knew very well that this was not a mediocre king.As early as the Nicholas era, Alexander II proposed social system reforms.

It is a pity that Nicholas I has already promoted a round of reforms, and it still ended in failure.In his later years, Nicholas I did not have the courage to break the boat, and did not dare to take the risk of breaking with domestic interest groups.

In the era of Alexander II, the difficulty of reform increased greatly. He did not have the prestige of Nicholas I and could not overwhelm the domestic mountains and hills.

The comprehensive social reform has shrunk to a limited social reform, and embarked on the same path as the original time and space. Alexander II adopted a gradual approach to promote social reform.

At a critical moment, the Polish uprising broke out, followed by the Pudan War, and the hegemony of the Russian Empire was challenged.

In order to maintain the imperial hegemony, Alexander II had to launch a war.The defeat of the war and the intensification of domestic social conflicts have resulted in the current situation.

Franz made a decisive decision: "Prime Minister, urge the Berlin government to fulfill the conditions, otherwise we will let them get nothing!"

This is political blackmail, the negotiations have reached an impasse, and the Berlin government is also panicked.During these months, the tsarist government armed another hundreds of thousands of troops.

play one more time?The Prussians expressed panic, and they have suffered a lot from the war so far. If they face the Russians head-on again, even if they win, they will lose.

If their own strength is insufficient, even if they ceded a large area of ​​land from the Russians, they would not be able to swallow it!

The Junker nobles are also knowledgeable, knowing that the current Kingdom of Prussia cannot withstand any failure.France and Austria are still staring at each other. If they don't do anything, they still have the strength to fight.

Whoever does it first will be cheaper than the other.Coupled with the grim international situation, Fao was worried that he would be assassinated if he entered the stadium first.

In the face of interests, the role of the covenant is not much greater than that of waste paper.In case of being cheated, where to cry?

This created an opportunity for Austria to blackmail Prussia.Prussia only knew that the attitude of the Russians was still tough, but did not know that the Tsarist government was about to compromise, and the Berlin government did not dare to allow the war to continue.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Prime Minister Felix replied

……

The plan never changed quickly, and the Berlin government did not panic at all after receiving the diplomatic note from the Vienna government.

The two sides directly discussed the conditions, and Prussian Foreign Minister McCarter questioned: "Sir Robson, you know exactly how Silesia and the Prussian Saxony region are, how could it be possible to buy 500 million Aegis?

As far as I know, Guangpu belongs to the Saxon region, and the treaty you signed with the Russians also stipulated 5000 million Aegis.That's still a high-risk loan, so it's impossible for it to be lower than this figure now!

We sell Prussia and Silesia at a price of 1.2 million Aegis, which is definitely worth the money. "