Holy Roman Empire

The outside world generally believes that this is the tsarist government expressing dissatisfaction with the Vienna government.Not long ago, the Austrian Foreign Ministry disrupted the Tsarist government's "grain repayment plan", and it is natural for the St. Petersburg government to have opinions.

There are problems in Russia-Austria relations, which European countries are happy to see.Many people who eat melons are ready to watch the excitement, and the international media are also expressing their opinions.

Everyone was waiting for the reaction of the Vienna government, and they were disappointed.There was no reaction, as if nothing had happened.

This is just the opinion of ordinary people. In the eyes of government officials and dignitaries of various countries, no reaction is the greatest reaction.

Either the two parties had communicated beforehand, so naturally there was no problem; or the Vienna government didn't care.

The former is irrelevant, the latter is not.If the Vienna government really doesn't care about what the Russians do, there are only two reasons:

Either the relationship between the two countries is very good and they don't care about such small things.This is obviously impossible. Although the relationship between Russia and Austria is good, it is far from being intimate.

Either the Vienna government has lost confidence in the Russia-Austria alliance, or it is not paying attention to it.There is no doubt that this is the truth of the matter.

The tsarist government expressed its dissatisfaction in this way. In addition to the appearance fee paid by the French, it is more likely to test the Vienna government and want to benefit from Austria.

If there was no real money, Alexander II would not have given the French face so much, and cooperated with them to perform this show. The so-called traditional friendship between the two countries has never existed.

Crown Prince Alexandrovich's appearance fee was France's agreement to provide a loan of 5 million francs to the Tsarist government.

This is not easy. Since the tsarist government announced the repudiation, all financial institutions in the world have closed their doors to the tsarist government.Whether it is bonds or loans, as long as the tsarist government is involved, no one will accept it.

There are gains and losses, the promise of the French has not been fulfilled, and the Russian-Austrian alliance first appeared in crisis.The more indifferent the Vienna government showed, the more worried the tsarist government was.

The expiration date of the Russia-Austria alliance is not far away. If the contract cannot be renewed, the Russian Empire will face unprecedented diplomatic isolation after the alliance expires.

The pressure on Alexander II increased sharply, and there were also many criticisms within the tsarist government. Many people believed that the tsar's insistence on going his own way led to the breakdown of the alliance.

This is a stain left by Alexander II when he was young. He was a pro-Prussian faction on the issue of the German region, and he also had an obvious anti-Austrian tendency.

In the original time and space, the Kingdom of Prussia was able to establish the Second German Empire, and Alexander II's personal political orientation also played a certain role.

Originally, it was normal to have political inclinations. After succeeding to the throne, Alexander II did not compromise with Prussia because he was pro-Prussian; nor did he alienate Austria because he was personally anti-Austrian.

Even if it was an inadvertent behavior at the beginning, it aroused the speculation of his subordinates, which inadvertently caused the relationship between the two countries to turn cold, and Alexander II later repaired it.

It's just that the heroes all have arrogance. When Alexander II succeeded to the throne, he was at the peak of the Russian Empire, so he naturally had more arrogance.

The Russian-Prussian War failed, the Russian Empire was in decline, and Alexander II did not adjust his mentality in time, which made the subsequent restoration of Russia-Austrian relations unsuccessful.

This trial of Austria made the relationship between the two countries even worse.Conservatives who opposed reform in the country found an opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to launch a political attack.

The internal pressure caused Alexander II to be devastated.To be honest, Alexander II is not very responsible for diplomatic issues, and the coldness of Russia-Austria relations is more caused by conflicts of interest.

The diplomacy of the tsarist government has always been known as "brutal", which is not what the Russians are good at.For the vast majority of the time, the Tsarist government failed diplomacy.

It is a pity that Alexander II was not a strong man in diplomacy, and his main achievements in the original time and space were only internal reforms and external expansion, and he did not have many achievements in diplomacy.

This trip to Europe was at the request of Alexandrovich himself.Alexander III, who was famous in the original time and space, had a more formidable vision in diplomacy.

Alexandrovich’s own route map for his visit is Denmark—Nordic Federation—German Federal Empire—Netherlands—Belgium—Portugal—Spain—Britain—France—Greece—Montenegro— Austria.

The omission of Prussia and Poland means that the two sides have become enemies. Naturally, as the crown prince, he cannot visit enemy countries.The lack of Switzerland means that the country is not important and the inland areas are not on the way.

This roadmap arranged in geographical order may seem irrelevant, but it is actually the best choice, taking into account the face of all parties.

Starting with France first means that many countries have to give up halfway.As the crown prince representing the Russian Empire, Alexandrovich cannot take a curve and turn it back.

If you really want to do that, the emphasis on France is reflected, but the kneeling and licking elements are too strong, and the face of the Russian Empire is also lost.

Alexandrovich tore up the road map in his hand. He was very dissatisfied with the actions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or he was dissatisfied with the actions of his father Alexander II.

Because of the loan of [-] million francs, this trip to Europe will start from France. I originally planned to use this opportunity to repair relations with other countries, but now I have to reconsider it.

Dissatisfaction is dissatisfaction, Alexandrovich just vented his emotions in private.He still knows how poor the tsarist government is now. If people are poor, the country is just as poor.

Although Alexander II's land reclamation plan solved the land problem of farmers, the price paid was money.

The food grown cannot be sold now, and it is difficult to get a return in a short time.

Now, in order to develop industry, the government is vigorously carrying out infrastructure construction, and started construction of multiple railway lines at the same time.

All of these cost money, and the money obtained by raiding the house in the early stage has been exhausted. Now the tsarist government can't wait to mix up a penny and spend it in half.

In the Winter Palace, the itinerary plan was suddenly changed, and Alexander II had to appease his son's emotions.Otherwise, the son got angry and announced that he would not go, it would be bad.

The crown princes in Europe still have a lot of power to speak, and they have done a lot against the emperor.Although Alexandrovich is not so extreme, the political differences between the two are still very large.

"I'm sorry, Alexandrovich. This time the situation is special. You know how short of money the government is now. We cannot refuse the conditions offered by the French."

Looking at his troubled father, Alexandrovich's anger calmed down.Nicholas I the Great captured Constantinople, bringing the Russian Empire to its peak and leaving a mess behind.

Unfortunately, this glamorous empire was punctured in the last war.

For the reform, Alexander II paid a lot, and he looked at least ten years older than his actual age.

Alexandrovich replied calmly: "There is no need for this. Although I don't agree with your approach, I understand your decision. For the national interest, it is normal for the crown prince to make certain sacrifices.

But I have to remind you that this is playing with fire, and it is very dangerous to get close to the French now.If it is not handled carefully, it is likely to bring disaster to Russia.

The Austrians have expressed their position with practical actions. In our opinion, this is not that they really don't care about the Russia-Austria alliance, but is warning us not to get closer to the French.

Once the Vienna government feels threatened, they are likely to act first.The target of the hands-on may be the French, and more likely it is us.

When it comes to national strategic security issues, the Russia-Austria alliance becomes insignificant.If it continues, I think the Vienna government will probably not renew the covenant after it expires. "

After listening to his son's words, Alexander II nodded. He had also considered these issues.It just miscalculated the reaction of the Vienna government.

"Well, I see. You still need to make more preparations for your visit to Europe this time. While visiting, you also need to inspect the development of various countries on the spot and learn what is useful to us.

Compared with European countries, Russia has lagged behind for many years.Especially the three countries of Britain, France and Austria, their strength is very terrifying.

Don't look at the period of the Near East War, we also defeated the British and French allied forces and captured Constantinople from them.

In fact, that war was a game between Russia and Austria and Britain and France.Russia sent people, Austria sent supplies and equipment, and finally paid a heavy price before forcing Britain and France to back down.

After so many years, the three countries of Britain, France and Austria have all made great progress. Only we are not advancing but retreating, and we have widened the gap with them.

In the last war, the Russian Empire lost not to Prussia, nor to the multinational coalition forces, but to ourselves. "

……

Chapter 66 The power of shabby engineering

France and Russia began to move closer, which also accelerated the negotiations between Britain and Austria.In order to increase the right to speak, the British are even preparing to pull the Prussians into the alliance.

Undoubtedly, this was strongly opposed by France and Austria.The cake is so big, it is already very difficult for the three companies to divide it up. How could it be possible to let another competitor in?

If the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Union, would the Russian Empire also join?The Russians are in, and the Nordic Federation can also enter.

One takes one, and it won't be long before all European countries come in, and this alliance will become useless.

There is nothing to say about the talent of the British for making trouble, and they are always thinking about making troubles.To be an ally with them, you must always be vigilant, and if you are not careful, you will be tricked. This is not much safer than being an enemy.

The changing situation in Europe still affected the war in South Africa.Since the British reinforced a group of Indian legions, Viscount Fickney's second plan has no use.

Even if the flaws were deliberately exposed, the British did not intend to go out of the city for a decisive battle.You are allowed to change forever, but I am standing still.

With the passage of time, the population of the Cape Town area has also plummeted. The war refugees have been transferred by John Bull in seven or eight, and the rest are the army.

The British, whose logistical pressure has eased, are not idle and are stockpiling supplies for the winter, and it seems that they are going to fight a protracted war.

Up to now, the war has also changed. It is often seen that a group of Indian soldiers and black soldiers are engaged in melee.

Cannon fodder to cannon fodder, except for the financial department, no one feels bad.The strategy that originally wanted to use cannon fodder to increase the casualties of the defenders and force the British to withdraw went bankrupt.

There is no way, if this consumption continues, Austria will definitely be the first to fail.Conscription work is difficult, and cannon fodder is not enough.

The African continent is originally sparsely populated, and the previous immigration strategy has led to a decline in the number of indigenous peoples in the Austrian colonies.

Now that the war has progressed, the colonial government has provided millions of cannon fodder, and almost all the tribes that can be found have been conscripted once.

These troops were either lost in the early battles, fell in the siege battle, or were executed by the supervising team.The current speed of conscription can no longer keep up with the consumption speed of the front line.

Of course, with such a large number of casualties, the number of deserters among the cannon fodder troops is naturally quite a few.South Africa is such a big area, if you drill into the mountains and forests, it is a hiding place.

As long as they hid in the mountains, the Boer Republic Army would have no way to continue their pursuit.As long as they don't run together in groups, it is still easy to hide.

Needless to say, the harm caused by the rout of the soldiers was that there were no immigrants in the British South Africa that had just been occupied, and the people who suffered the most were naturally the local indigenous tribes.

The rout soldiers also had to eat. Although there was plenty of food in the jungle, there would not be enough food if there were too many rout soldiers.

If there is not enough food, you can only go out and grab it.Naturally, no one in the army of the Boer Republic dared to move. With cold weapons, they ran to rob the modern army, unless they couldn't think about it.

The law of the jungle, the law of the jungle.Without young and strong indigenous tribes, there would be blood mold. These deserters did not dare to make mistakes when facing the army of the Boer Republic, and they were not relentless when facing their own people.

No, you can't count yourself as one of them.Only those in the same tribe are our own people, and the others are enemies.It is natural to be fierce in dealing with the enemy. For a while, the area around Cape Town was in chaos, and I don't know how many tribes are going to perish.

Viscount Fickney knew nothing about this change, and he didn't care about the internal disputes among the native tribes.Unable to conquer Cape Town for a long time, the pressure on Viscount Fickney increased greatly.

It is almost impossible to make the British admit defeat.The enemy has superiority at sea, unless the British and Austrian countries completely tear their faces apart, and the Austrian African colonial troops join the war, with the strength in their own hands, Viscount Fickney has no confidence in pushing horizontally.

The one who was more stressed than him was the Governor of Delphi. In any case, Viscount Ficney still won the battle. It was nothing more than a matter of the size of the victory.

The siege that lasted for almost half a year was not without effect. Looking at the shells and human lives, Cape Town was almost destroyed.

If you have a satellite map, you will find that most of the original city of Cape Town has fallen into the hands of the "Boers", and only a small area is still in the hands of the British.

It's just that this has no effect. There are a lot of reinforced concrete fortresses behind. From Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope, there are all fortresses at a glance.

The quality is not enough, but the quantity is enough!Governor Delphi's tortoise tactic seems inconspicuous, but its practicality is still not to be said.

Of course, this tactic can only be afforded by the rich and powerful British.Don't look at the fortresses of these bean curd projects, almost all raw materials are shipped from outside.

For example: cement and steel bars are shipped from the mainland, and the transportation distance alone increases the cost.

The project turned into tofu dregs, which were all forced out.Sand and gravel materials are obtained locally, and the quality of sea sand itself is not good enough. When the quantity is not enough, soil is used to make up it, and sea water is used to replace it because of water shortage.

Too much helplessness added together made the fortress built by the British in the later period more and more rubbish. In many cases, they only pursued quantity and did not consider quality at all.

However, the attacking Boer Republic army still doesn't know anything about these issues. After all, it was hard-headed in the early stage, and now it is fighting in the streets, and has not yet come into contact with these real bean dregs projects.

Since you know it is a bean dregs project, why do you need to repair it?There are many reasons for this, relying on fortifications to deter the enemy, and using temporary fortresses for strategic deception.

This is the reason why Governor Delphi reported to the London government, and it can only be regarded as barely enough.

This level of strategic deception may be effective before the outbreak. The war has already begun. As long as the shells fly over, the truth will soon be exposed.

But the fort still needs to be repaired, otherwise, how can the capitalists who improve raw materials make money?These special businesses are all owned by domestic bigwigs.

The kind-hearted Governor Delphi would never do things that cut off people's wealth.This is also the reason why he is nervous now. Once the last area of ​​Cape Town falls, the bean curd project behind will be exposed.

The fortifications, which cost millions of pounds, are vulnerable on the battlefield, so it will be difficult for Governor Delphi to retreat safely. He will take the blame for this.

"Will, how are the negotiations between the Foreign Office and the Austrians going?"

The cruel reality made Governor Delphi pin his hopes on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.As long as the Vienna government is settled, the "Boer Republic Army" outside the city will immediately disperse.

Do you really think that if you wear a vest, you don't know who is who?If the Boers were so strong, they would not have had to move inland back then.

"Your Excellency, this negotiation went very smoothly, but it did not involve the South African issue. The Austrians insisted that it was the Boers who fought with us, and if they want to negotiate, they should talk to the government of the Boer Republic."

Will was very depressed, and no one was willing to lift the lid.Negotiations on the South African War were simply impossible.

Unless they are willing to put down their face, listen to the Austrian's suggestion, and negotiate with this vest "Boer Republic Government".

The London government couldn't save face, so it put the issue on hold.This is just a superficial statement. Governor Delphi knows very well that the real reason is that no one wants to take the blame.

If you fail on the battlefield, how can there be good fruit on the negotiating table?On the South African issue, it was inevitable for Britain to make concessions. If the signed treaty suffers losses, it will be an indelible stain in his diplomatic career.

It is the instinct of politicians to tend to the interests. Governor Delphi took it easy and did not complain.After taking a deep breath, he said: "Forget it, the matter has come to this point and there is no way out!

Will supplies power to the London government. In order to safeguard the interests of the empire and mitigate the losses caused by the war, the colonial government of Cape Town applied for diplomatic negotiations with the Boer Republic. "

This means that the British South African strategy is completely bankrupt. As the first-line executor, Governor Delphi must be responsible for this.

But negotiating now is better than negotiating after the defeat of the war.If he was pushed all the way to the Cape of Good Hope by the enemy, and if he didn't want to go to court-martial, Governor Delphi would have to die in battle and give the country an explanation.

That being the case, it is better to take the initiative to take responsibility.Just because this war has fed many dignitaries, his ending will not be too miserable.

There are so many people who have lost battles that not everyone will be held accountable.The only problem with Governor Delphi is that he initiated the war and failed to win it.

As long as you sign a barely passable treaty and go back to your country to avoid the limelight for a few years, the matter will be over.

Governor Delphi has a backer, and he can continue to be an official after the limelight passes.

In the current crisis, the British are still efficient, and they put forward a negotiation request to the opposite "Boer Republic Government" on the same day.

After receiving the invitation to negotiate from the British, Viscount Fickney was stunned.For this war, he also tried his best, but he couldn't think of a way to win Cape Town. He didn't expect the British to admit defeat.

Negotiations must be negotiated, Cape Town cannot be captured by force, and it is no longer necessary to continue the fight.

The Austrian aristocrats who participated in this war all had their own families and could not leave for too long. Their military exploits were almost enough, and their goal was accomplished.If you continue to fight with the British, no one can talk well.

The bean curd project behind the British is really easy to deal with. The problem is that Viscount Fickney and others don't know it at all, and they think it is a real fortress.