Holy Roman Empire

Colonial Secretary Robert: "The French have digested the Italian region, and the European continent will also lose its balance, but it will become France surpassing Austria.

This is actually a false proposition. Whether France overwhelms Austria or Austria surpasses France, the strength gap between them will not widen in one day.

We have enough time to make strategic adjustments.The question now is the upcoming Russian-Prussian war. Who is more in our interest to win? "

Robert is optimistic about the French, which is all the confidence given by Napoleon.

When the French army swept the European continent, the shadow was too great for everyone. Even in the new round of military reform, the French army did not keep up with the rhythm. Everyone still thinks that the French army is number one in the world.

The performance of the French army in the First Near Eastern War strengthened the British view.The slow replacement of weapons and equipment, and the fact that military training was stuck in decades ago, have all been inadvertently ignored by everyone.

It is generally believed in the international community that the French army ranks first in the world in combat effectiveness when its troops are comparable.

According to the experience gained from the anti-French war, the best way to defeat the French is to spend more money and invest more troops.

It is also based on this that everyone believes that Fao's strength is comparable.The French army is more elite, the Austrians are more powerful, and the economy is stronger, and the offset is exactly equal.

Foreign Secretary Edward: "The Austrians deliberately indulged the Prussian outbreak, clearly seeking further territorial expansion.

No matter who wins or loses this war, the Vienna government is the biggest victor.In terms of geopolitical relations, after Prussia and Russia have a winner, no one will be able to hinder Austria's expansion.

In the past few years, the French government has been in constant infighting. In the past two years, Napoleon IV gradually took power, and the Paris government stabilized.

Because of their interests, the capitalists who previously supported Napoleon III's unification of the Italian region now stand on the opposite side of the Paris government and secretly fund Italian independent organizations.

In the case of internal instability, the French have lost the ability to check and balance Austria, which is the main reason why the Vienna government dared to indulge the outbreak of the Russian-Prussian War.

In order to balance the European continent, we must create another enemy for the Austrians to contain them from behind. Both Prussia and Russia are options.

From the perspective of development potential, the threat of the Russians is significantly greater.Once this war is won, the mighty Russian Empire will come back again.

Perhaps their vitality was severely damaged after the war, and they were unable to compete for hegemony in the European continent, but in Central Asia and the Far East, they would still threaten our interests. "

In the era of Napoleon III, the problem in Italy was not serious.Relying on super-powerful political tricks to suppress and win over a wave, it is generally stable.

Napoleon IV's turn was different. Because the Paris government was busy with infighting, it ignored the domestic economic construction.

In particular, the wrong economic policies have been formulated to allow the two markets to merge into one.After the market was opened, the capitalists who supported the merger with France found themselves fooled.

What appears to be a fair competition has actually turned into an economic plunder of the Italian region by France.

It's not that the capitalists in the Italian region are not working hard, but that the gap in industrial strength between the two sides is too great, and it is simply not possible to catch up in a short period of time.

If these are the only problems, it is not unbearable, only the small and medium capitalists are unlucky.Powerful capitalists can replace new equipment and regain competitiveness.

However, both the Italian region and France share a common problem - lack of resources.

In order to compete for resources, capitalists have to show their talents.There is no doubt that the Paris government is sitting on the right side, and when formulating policies, it is more inclined to local capitalists.

After going back and forth, the resentment accumulated.Unwilling to be lonely, the capitalists slowly manipulated public opinion, provoked public dissatisfaction with the French, and attempted to force the Paris government to make concessions.

The result is naturally self-evident. Even if the French government wants to make a move, the capitalists in Paris will not agree.

In the last economic crisis, this contradiction was directly detonated.Some capitalists began to lean towards independence and advocated nationalism in the Italian region.

It was not just the capitalists who were dissatisfied with the French, but in fact the local aristocracy was equally dissatisfied.One radish and one pit, in the distribution of rights by the French government, they got too little.

Despite the contradictions, there has been no large-scale independence movement in the Italian region.The reason is simple, the living standard of ordinary people has improved despite various discomforts.

It doesn't matter if the local economy is not good, you can export labor.They are all one country, so going out to work is naturally not a problem.

Compared with the Italian region, France is properly paid.It was also a win-win, with more income for ordinary Italians and cheap labor for French capitalists.

Some people are happy and some people are disappointed.In just ten years, labor costs in the Italian region have doubled due to labor mobility.This even made the capitalists in the Italian region grit their teeth.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Balfour: "What can the Commonwealth give us? What can the Russians give us?

With all due respect, these two countries can bring us too little benefit.Just to check and balance Austria, we don't need our intervention at all. Whoever wins is Austria's enemy.

Now they ask us for help, not for international diplomatic support, but more for money.

What determines the outcome of this war is not whether the Prussian and Russian armies are elite, but who can raise more money.

It's easy to lend them money, but how do you get it back?

Although I don't want to admit it, I have to admit that we do not have the ability to directly decide the outcome of this war.

If you make the wrong bet, you will end up losing everything.This is hundreds of millions of pounds and I am against making a choice now. "

The word "money" has exhausted the essence of British diplomacy.It directly silenced Edward, the foreign secretary who was inclined to support the Commonwealth of Pope.

No way, the risk is too great.He didn't even know what to ask from the Pubo Federation to ensure the safety of this debt.

After hesitating for a moment, Prime Minister Benjamin made a decision: "First explore the bottom of William I and see how much chips they have.

To win the war, the Pubo Federation needs the support of at least two major powers.If they can get the support of Austria or France, it is not impossible to issue war bonds for them. "

International debt is risky, even for John Bull with deep pockets.They don't dare to directly invest hundreds of millions of pounds in gambling without finding someone to share the risk.

Supporting the Russians was not in Benjamin's consideration at all.The main reason is not the potential threat, but the money.

Based on the credibility of the Tsarist government, if he dared to lend money to the Russians, he would be in the water.

Don't consider the issue of collateral, even if you sign a contract, you can also default.The ships of the Royal Navy couldn't go ashore again, and they were too little deterrent to the Russians.

Chapter 222 Continuation of Hegemony Struggle

In the living room of the British Foreign Office, the atmosphere was extraordinarily strange.One party in the negotiation was very nervous, but had to smile; the other party was obviously not interested, but pretended to listen carefully.

This weird scene is the scene of the negotiations between Britain and Prussia.From the moment the negotiation started, the two sides were in an unequal position.

It’s almost like an ordinary person who has no money in his pocket and is hungry and has to borrow money to eat.To borrow money, that's...

British Foreign Secretary Edward waved his hand: "I'm sorry, Your Excellency. I can't do anything about this matter. Loans are the business of banks, and you should talk to the bankers."

Just relying on attitude, obviously can't borrow money.Without enough interest, how could John Bull possibly pay for it?

Federal Foreign Secretary Friedman: "Sir, we have communicated with the bank and need your government to provide endorsement. Please rest assured, this time we are very, very sincere.

Interest can be increased by 30% on the basis of the international average interest rate, and we can also use fiscal revenue, colonies, railways, mines, and ports as collateral. "

Although international loans are lucrative, there are also huge risks.Without the government's "endorsement", whoever dares to make international loans is a fool.

With government "endorsement", once a debt default occurs, the government will step in to collect payments.Although there is no guarantee that it will be recovered, it also increases the cost of the other party's breach of contract.

If there is no government "endorsement", then go for the account yourself!There are many similar lessons learned, for example: the previous tsarist government defaulted on its debts.

There are debts "endorsed" by governments of various countries, which are finally settled through negotiation and can be recovered to some extent.Debts that were not "endorsed" by the government were simply wiped out.

The outcome of the Russian-Prussian War is unpredictable. Whether there will be a Commonwealth of Prussia after the war is unknown. Without the endorsement of the London government, the bankers would naturally dare not take this business, no matter how high the interest rate is.

These days, the government's supervision of the financial market is almost lax, but without government support, it is impossible to raise hundreds of millions of pounds from the financial market.

British Foreign Secretary Edward shook his head: "Your Excellency, I feel your sincerity, but it doesn't work.

Everyone knows how destructive the war is.Now the Russo-Prussian war is on the verge of breaking out, and the debt can only be fulfilled if your country wins.

This is only possible.The Russian Empire is not so easy to deal with. Even if your country can defeat them again, it will pay a big price. What will your country use to repay these debts after the war?

War reparations?

With all due respect, the war would not end if the Tsarist government had money.

The spoils that your country can obtain are nothing more than land, population, and factories. These things are indeed precious, but unfortunately they cannot be realized.

Even because of the war, your country has to invest a lot of money in reconstruction.It will be a financial burden for a long time to come.

This is still the best state.It will be even worse if the war gets into a frenzy and turns into a protracted confrontation.

If one day your country is really unable to perform the contract, should you let everyone live with these collaterals?

You should be clear, Your Excellency, that the collateral your country puts out has no real effect on the banker. "

Edward's words have been very restrained, and he did not mention the issue of the defeat of the Pope Federation, but in reality, it must be considered.

If you win the war, you cannot guarantee the normal performance of debts, but if you lose the war, you can still pay.

Friedman still has confidence in this war.However, his confidence does not mean that the British are also confident.

Whether they admit it or not, the comprehensive national strength of the Russians is above the Commonwealth.

They were able to win the last war because all the European countries wanted the Russians to lose, and the Tsarist government really invested in fighting them, at most, half of it.

Today is different from the past. The weakened Russian Empire is not so feared by everyone. If you want countries to contribute money and help them, you must speak with interests.

After hesitating for a moment, Friedman asked directly, "Sir, what does your country want?"

The Commonwealth of Pubo now has no confidence in negotiating conditions. Rather than wasting time in negotiations, it is better to directly showdown. Anyway, as long as the British are willing to pay, everything can be negotiated.

British Foreign Secretary Edward waved his hand: "Your Excellency the Earl has misunderstood. We don't want anything. You have to believe that the friendship between our two countries can stand the test, but the bankers need a guarantee.

If your country can deposit the reserves in the Bank of England as a guarantee, everyone's confidence in you will be greatly improved, and your country can get at least 6000 million pounds of loans. "

Friedman's face instantly turned ugly. The loan of 6000 million pounds sounded very tempting. In fact, the reserves of the currency issued by the Commonwealth of the Commonwealth now have 478.6 tons of gold.

Of course, due to the relationship of international settlements, the Commonwealth of Population still has to keep a part of the gold, and the gold that can be deposited in the Bank of England is worth about 6000 million pounds.

It's not just about gold, it's also about currency issuance.Once gold fell into British hands, it was difficult to get it back.

The reserves are in the hands of the British, and the future currency issuance of the Commonwealth of Poetry will have to be influenced by the London government.Similar to the Fed in later generations, it can influence the world economy through monetary policy.

It's no surprise that the Americans themselves learned from the British.It is nothing more than the fact that the national strength of the United States is stronger, and its hegemony is much more stable than that of Britain.

Due to Franz's butterfly effect, the Aegis was powerfully killed, and the pound could not exclusively enjoy currency hegemony.In this context, it is not surprising that the British are eyeing the Commonwealth of Pubo.

For the Berlin government, depositing gold in the Bank of England was not only a simple loss of monetary autonomy, but also a political stand-up.

Choosing to support the British will naturally offend France and Austria.No, it should be said to have offended Austria.

Because of the lack of gold reserves, in this round of currency hegemony, the franc has been the first to go out.

Without hesitating for a long time, Friedman gave the answer: "The loan of 6000 million pounds is too little, and the value of the gold in our hands is no less than this amount. Not to mention the additional political and economic value.

Once gold is deposited in the Bank of England, we are bound to offend the Austrians.In the following Russian-Prussian War, Austria's voice was the heaviest.

Not long ago, the Vienna government made a similar request, and the conditions they gave were much more generous. "

Whether the Vienna government has made a request, as a competitor, the British have no way to verify it.Even if it is not, the Berlin government is willing to send it to the door, and the Vienna government will not refuse.

Edward smiled slightly, not surprised that Friedman raised the price under the guise of Austria, which is common in diplomacy.

However, William I placed the first stop of his visit in London, which meant that the Berlin government was more inclined to cooperate with them.

He said tentatively: "Your Excellency Count, this issue can be discussed slowly, we will not let our friends suffer.

As for the Vienna government's higher bid, it would only be necessary for them to deliver on their promises.Although the Russian-Austrian alliance has ended, the Russian-Austrian relationship has not yet broken down.

In the past 30 years, the economies of Russia and Austria have been tied together.Even if the Vienna government is willing to abandon the tsarist government, it cannot be done in a short time.

No matter what choice your country makes, it is impossible for Austria to cut itself off from the Russians for your country's sake. This is determined by interests. "

Friedman nodded. This is an indisputable fact. Economically, Russia and Austria are indeed standing together.The Russian-Austrian alliance would not have been dissolved if both countries had not had ambitions for hegemony.

The Berlin government would rather choose the British with a worse reputation to cooperate, rather than seek help from Austria, which comes from the same source, because of the deep fear of Russia-Austria relations.

After a pause, Edward continued: "If your country wants to win this war, you need more supporters. As friends, we are happy to help your country."

Edward said this with confidence. Although Britain has a bad reputation in Europe, its diplomatic influence is still huge.

Not to mention small countries, the most important thing is the impact on France.Since the restoration of Napoleon III, the Paris government has been filled with a large number of Anglophiles.

If the British government is willing to go out and get these people, it will be much easier for the Commonwealth to seek the support of the French.

Friedman was tempted, not because he had shallow eyelids, but because there were too few chips in the hands of the Popo Federation.

The so-called colony is just a small piece of the Indo-China Peninsula. The Berlin government does not manage it very much, so it is not worth much at all.

The so-called "financial revenue" is a joke.In the past ten years, except for the year when the land was sold, when have there been any balances?

Even if it is taken out as a mortgage, the government must be maintained, or else the bankers will collect taxes themselves?

Railways, mines, and ports can only be heard.Most of these industries are private, and only a very small number truly belong to the Berlin government.

Private property is sacred and inviolable, and the government has no right to dispose of it. What the Berlin government can mortgage are all assets belonging to the government.

……

Chapter 223 The money I have to pay

At the Vienna Palace, the content of the English-Prussian negotiation has been in the hands of Franz.It's not how powerful the intelligence department is, it's completely leaked by the British on purpose.

This kind of high-level negotiation has only a few people in the know, and they are all senior ministerial officials. It is simply not something that intelligence organizations can buy.

It is not surprising that the Commonwealth of Pope and Bo is closer to the British. In any case, John Bull is a sea-power state and cannot become the hegemon of the mainland. There is no direct conflict between the British and the Commonwealth.