Holy Roman Empire

Except for a few generals, who can enter the military academy and impart war experience, most Junker nobles still need to go home to farm and become a member of the Austrian military reserve officers.

If the European war breaks out, they still have a chance to perform, otherwise they can only die in the fields.

This is the instinct of the emperor. There is no doubt about the military quality of the Junker nobles, and Franz must be held in his hands.Even if you don't use it yourself, you can't use it for others.

After the Russians won the war, if they wanted to reward their meritorious deeds and resettle their own people there, they would inevitably liquidate those vested interests.

Not only the Junker nobles, but even ordinary people may be unlucky.In fact, they can't even think about being unlucky. If the Russians don't steal their homes, what will they use to repay Austria's debts?

The Russian-Austrian loan also has a secret agreement, but it is not just a territorial exchange, and the debt repayment of the population is also one of the conditions secretly reached by the two parties.

This is also what they need. The tsarist government can clean up local unstable factors, and Austria can get a group of labor forces to develop colonies.

Of course, the agreement is also limited.Austria doesn’t want everyone who collects rags. After the war, the Vienna government will buy these national prisoners of war from the Russians in the name of saving German compatriots, and take away the soldiers’ families by the way.

Franz is not afraid of someone stealing his business. Nationalism has already risen. Except for him, the Emperor of the Shinra, who holds high the banner of unifying Germany and can subdue them with national righteousness, other countries do not have the capital.

By dispersing these people in the colonies, Austria can quickly digest them.If it falls into the hands of Britain and France, I am afraid they will not dare to put these people in the colony.

The remnant soldiers and defeated generals are also relatively speaking. These people's combat effectiveness is not bad, and they are definitely at the forefront when they arrive in the colony.

If you enter the British and French colonies, the cultural traditions are different, and you will not be able to integrate in a short time.That is a proper unstable element, and it is also the kind that may ignite the smoke at any time.

Prime Minister Felix: "Your Majesty, the most troublesome thing now is the British, who may encourage other European countries to intervene in this war.

The life and death of the Pubo Federation has nothing to do with us, but the Kingdom of Prussia is one of the German states, although they themselves have announced their withdrawal.

As the leaders of the German nation, we cannot completely fall to the Russians on this issue.On the bright side, we must also make a gesture of protecting Prussia and give an explanation to the outside world.

If the tsarist government could not withstand the pressure and let the Kingdom of Prussia go, it would be very difficult for our plan to proceed. "

Nationalism is a double-edged sword.Now that Austria has enjoyed the benefits of nationalism, it has to bear the obligations of nationalism.

For example: unify the German region, maintain the territorial integrity of the German region, and fight against separatism...

There is no doubt that the Vienna government will definitely intervene.Not to mention keeping the entire Kingdom of Prussia, at least the territory of the Prussian German region must be kept.

After a little thought, Franz shook his head: "Don't worry. Poland and Lithuania were once internationally recognized as Russian territories, and the Tsarist government will definitely be able to take them back as the victor.

Even if the Kingdom of Prussia is saved, it will have to shed a layer of skin.The combination of huge debts, war reparations, and an exhausted domestic economy is not so easy to get rid of.

To make a comeback, the international situation must allow it.The Russians will not give up suppressing them, and we will not give them this opportunity. "

For Austria, the size of the Kingdom of Prussia is still too big, so big that Austria is worried that if they swallow them, they will be choked to death.

Without splitting the Kingdom of Prussia, the road to German unification will always be a castle in the air.The new Shenluo Empire established by Franz does not need a powerful state, and the existence of the Kingdom of Prussia will weaken the authority of the central government.

Splitting is easy to say, but very troublesome to operate.First of all, this kind of hatred cannot be done by Austria.Otherwise, even if the future is unified, the Prussian people will be at odds with the central government.

In this context, Franz chose the Russian as the knife.For comprehensive strategic considerations, it is not surprising to support the Russians in the Russo-Prussian War.

Foreign Minister Weisenberg: "Your Majesty, if the Pubo Federation is defeated, the European continent will be dominated by Britain, France, Austria and Russia in the future.

From a geographical point of view, we occupy the center of the European continent, and are naturally the most favorable contenders for the hegemony of the European continent.

Whether we like it or not, we will all have to participate in European disputes in the future.In recent years, our strength has grown rapidly, which has made many people feel uneasy.

With the development of the times, the number of international conflicts will gradually increase in the future. Under the trend of interests, it is very likely that France and Russia will move closer.

In theory, we could also win over the British as an ally to counter the Franco-Russian alliance, but this is the worst option. "

Not possible, but very likely.In the original time and space, France and Russia were all close together, but the alliance between Britain and Germany came to naught.

Did the Russians really fall to the French because of the loans?Before crossing, Franz thought so, but now he no longer thinks so.

In the original time and space, the closeness of France and Russia was essentially a strategic need. The German Second Empire was too strong, which made them feel threatened and had to hold together for warmth.Loans are a catalyst, not a decisive factor.

Although the current international situation has changed, the strength of Austria can also arouse the vigilance of France and Russia.

France and Russia have not yet moved closer. It is nothing more than the fact that the relationship between Russia and Austria is now friendly. The French are still immersed in the glory of the Napoleonic era and have not clearly recognized the threat of Austria.

Franz nodded in satisfaction. Being able to clearly see the potential threat to Austria from the post-war international situation is enough to prove that the Austrian Foreign Ministry has matured and has a clear self-awareness without being immersed in the glory of the past.

"It's a real threat, but it's in the future. We still have time to plan and weaken our competitors before they react.

The most important thing right now is the Prussian-Russian War, to eat the legacy left by the Pubo Federation and enhance our potential strength. "

……

Chapter 273 The Battle of Warsaw Without a Winner

The changes in the Prussian-Prussian battlefield directly affected the European financial market, and there was a sudden panic. All the war bonds issued by the Prussian-Polish Federation plummeted in market value.

Anyone with a bit of common sense knows that if Moltke is unable to turn the tide in the subsequent war, after the Pubo Federation is defeated, there will inevitably be a debt default.

Financial winter is coming.

Prime Minister Benjamin, who was far away in London, felt a chill.

There are too many debts, and sometimes it is really not burdensome.Up to now, the people who are most afraid of the end of the Pubo Federation, except for themselves, are the British.

The more information he has, the more Prime Minister Benjamin understands the seriousness of the problem.

The defeat of the Pubo Federation was not only due to the bad debts of the loans issued and the waste of the bonds issued for them, but more importantly, the payment owed by the Berlin government.

The previous losses are nothing more than financial institutions and speculators. These people themselves have rich net worth and strong ability to resist risks.

The following payment is different. Large enterprises may be able to withstand the past, but small and medium-sized enterprises have weak capital chains and cannot stand the toss at all.

If combined with the robbery of the banks, the end of the Pubo Federation will be the beginning of the industrial crisis in Britain.

The actual situation may be even worse, after all, the capitalist world has excess capacity.After the war, market competition will become more intense, and a wave of corporate bankruptcy is inevitable.

For Britain, which has a large family and a large business, the proportion of these small and medium-sized enterprises in the economic structure is not too high, but it is these enterprises that provide the most jobs.

The bankruptcy wave and the unemployment wave are a pair of good brothers, and they have always been "keep inseparable from Meng, and Meng never leave from focus".An economic crisis of unprecedented scale has already begun to brew in Britain.

Sometimes knowing too much is also a burden.

Benjamin asked: "Sir Edward, what do the French say?"

It is no longer possible for the British to reverse this war. The position of the French is crucial.

Foreign Minister Edward shook his head: "The Paris government rejected our proposal. They believe that the conflict between Prussia and Russia cannot be resolved. Even if this war is forcibly stopped, there will be another war.

The French are hedging their bets in this war, and their losses in defeating the Pubo Federation are not great, and they may even have reached an agreement with the Russians secretly. "

Prime Minister Benjamin nodded helplessly. He knew that the grievances and grievances between Britain and France were constantly being cut and reasoned.The French wished for the British to be unlucky, how could they give them a hand?

Take the Prussian-Prussian War as an example. At first, Britain and France supported the Berlin government, but the British got the gold reserves of the Prussian Federation and almost monopolized the financial benefits.

As it turns out, eating alone isn't all that tasty.The more you eat, the more you pay.The British undertook most of the loans and bonds of the Berlin government.

The French chose to let go for many reasons.In addition to too few benefits, there is also the development of French Africa, which requires a lot of investment, and the Paris government artificially restricts capital outflows.

Although the greed of capitalists has not been stopped, the total amount of capital outflow has shrunk significantly.

Without government guidance, these capitals not only flowed into the Pubo Federation, but also a considerable part of them flowed into the Russian Empire.

It is equivalent to betting on both sides. No matter which side wins, the French will have to share.With fewer interests involved, the Paris government is naturally not active.

Napoleon IV was different from his father. He happened to be born in the stage of French revival. He was born with an arrogance, and it was impossible for him to be inferior to others.

From the foreign policy of France, it can be seen that the foreign policy of the Paris government has become more and more tough. In the past two or three years, the relationship between Britain and France and France and Austria have been deteriorating.

The strength of the British Army is limited, and if it wants to intervene in this war, it has more than enough heart but not enough power.

Now that the French are unwilling to be thugs, the London government has essentially lost the ability to directly intervene in this war.

After pondering for a while, Prime Minister Benjamin said fiercely: "Then the next best thing. No matter what method we use, we must find a way to keep the Kingdom of Prussia. We need creditors to exist and give the country an explanation."

After the defeat, the Kingdom of Prussia naturally did not have the ability to repay its debts.But as long as the creditor is there, there is the possibility of repaying the money.

After the war, the financial resources of the Berlin government were limited. Perhaps for many years, their annual repayment amount would not be enough for interest.

But hope is better than no hope.The London government needs a hope to give the public confidence in the market.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield: "Prime Minister, you are too pessimistic. Maybe things are not as bad as you think, and the Pubo Federation is still fighting.

If Moltke performed a miracle and won the Battle of Warsaw ahead of the Russians, they might still have a decent end to the war. "

Foreign Secretary Edward denied: "Sir Garfield, this is impossible. There are indications that the Austrians want the Pubo Federation to lose this war and lay the foundation for the unification of the German region.

Even if Moltke created a miracle, it still couldn't change the fate of the Pubo Federation's failure.With the support of Vienna, the troops of the tsarist government will continue to rush up, and finally heap them to death. "

"Quantitative advantage", perhaps this is the most touching place for European countries.The Russians proved with facts: "As long as our army is large enough, the enemy is powerless."

……

While the British were trying to make up for their losses, the Russo-Prussian War entered a new stage.The Russian Fourth Army has been completely out of temper by the Prussian army, and can only rely on simple fortifications to survive.

What is surprising is that the Prussian army did not completely encircle and annihilate the Russian Fourth Army in one go. Instead, after defeating the disabled Russian Fourth Army, two infantry divisions and a group of militiamen were left behind to pretend to be the main force to besiege the Russians, but the main force quickly moved north.

In order to avoid the detection of the Russian airship, the Prussian army chose to sleep during the day and march at night for the first time this time, and quickly reinforced the Warsaw battlefield.

On November 1880, 11, the main force of the Prussian army arrived in Warsaw and launched a counterattack against the Russian army together with the Warsaw defenders. The Russian Fifth Army suffered heavy losses when caught off guard.

This was just the beginning. After suffering heavy losses, the Russian Fifth Army was forced to retreat with its remnants, and the Russian Seventh Army, which was a horn of each other, was also exposed to the front of the Prussian army.

Facts have proved that after losing its military advantage, the Russian army is really not an opponent of the Prussian army.

The Russian Seventh Army failed to create a miracle. It was too late when the comrades reminded them, and they failed to evacuate in time, and lost one-third of their troops under the attack of the Prussian Army.

The Battle of Warsaw ended with the victory of the Prussian army, but Moltke's face was not at all happy, because the time that belonged to them had been lost.

There is no way, the Russian army is not paper. It took them only two days to defeat the Russian Fifth Army by sneak attack, and it took them five days to defeat the Russian Seventh Army.

Time is life on the battlefield. At this time, the Russian Third Army and Sixth Army are only more than 200 kilometers away from them.

Theoretically speaking, it is still possible to intercept the enemy halfway and delay the enemy's marching speed for ten days and half a month.

For such a long time, they can still rush to help the southern front, for example: first kill the enemy's Eighth Army besieging Poznan, and the Russian Ninth Army staying in the central part.

In fact, this is simply not possible.The soldiers of the Prussian army are also human beings, and if they want to maintain the combat effectiveness of the troops, they also need time to recuperate after the battle.

Even if he only rests for two days, Moltke doesn't have enough time.

Regardless of the fact that the distance from Warsaw to Poznan is only 278 kilometers, trains can arrive overnight, but it is not possible to transport hundreds of thousands of troops there in a day or two.

The passing of the army does not mean that the war can start immediately.It also depends on whether the enemy is willing to fight them decisively. The Russians can delay time.

For example: looking for favorable terrain to stick to.Anyway, if they are not wiped out, the rear of the Prussian army will be unstable, and the longer the delay, the better it will be for the Russians.

Before they could kill the Russian Eighth Army, Russian reinforcements arrived in Warsaw again.Without the main force, Warsaw will definitely not be able to hold on.

The fall of Warsaw also means the fall of Poland.At that point, even if the Russian Eighth Army was killed, Moltke could only withdraw in desperation to defend the Kingdom of Prussia.

Abandoning the Polish region, the Pubo Federation has already lost this war.Having lost most of its territory and population, the remaining Kingdom of Prussia has even less potential for war, and has no capital to fight the Russians at all.

If there is no time to solve the threat from the southern front, we can only hope that the defenders in the country will be stronger and persist until they kill the Russian reinforcements before returning to the country.

The prerequisite is that this is the last batch of reinforcements from the Russians, otherwise the offensive and defensive battle in Warsaw will continue.Judging from the current situation, it is more likely that the war will continue.

Looking at the map, Moltke was at a loss for the first time.

"Marshal, this is the battle report we calculated, please have a look." A young officer whispered

Moltke raised his head, waved his hand to signal the young officer to put down the battle report and go out.After a moment of silence, Mao Qi, who had calmed down, slowly opened the battle report.

The cold numbers on the paper seemed to instantly drop the temperature in the room by a few points.

War is deadly, and the Prussian army has achieved brilliant results in the past month. It successively disabled the Russian Fourth Army, Fifth Army, and severely damaged the Russian Seventh Army.

A total of more than 43 enemy troops were annihilated and captured, which collapsed the Russian Warsaw offensive in one fell swoop and created the "Warsaw Victory" that shocked the world.

However, behind this glory, 11 Prussian soldiers fell permanently on the battlefield, and an additional 15 wounded were added.

This is just casualties. In fact, they paid far more than this price, not to mention civilian casualties, and Moltke didn't take the Poles seriously.

Economic loss is not what he, the marshal, cares about. The consumption of weapons, equipment and strategic materials cannot help but be ignored by him.

In just one month, the Prussian army destroyed half of the ammunition in the warehouse and consumed nearly one-third of the strategic materials.

Chapter 274

After the news of the Battle of Warsaw spread, the Russian Army Command was gloomy.Once the good situation in the Warsaw area came to an end, the tsarist government advocated abandoning the North-South War, and the call for reinforcements in Warsaw became louder and louder.

On the day he received the battle report, Ivanov returned to St. Petersburg by train, and had a secret talk with Alexander II overnight.

No one knows the specific content. In short, the internal turmoil in Russia was suppressed by Alexander II.

After settling the internal strife, Marshal Ivanov returned to the battlefield again, looked at the casualty data in his hand, and sighed deeply.

"Order the Fourth Army to retreat, there is no need for them to stay there now."