Holy Roman Empire

No one is a fool. Mahdi is very aware of the consequences of blocking the Suez Canal. It will not offend one or two countries, but all the beneficiary countries of the canal.

The British dare not go out and do things in person, let alone Mahdi.Even if it is a chess piece, it is also a thoughtful chess piece, and not all situations must be controlled by the standard-bearer.

Foreign Secretary Georges: "The Prime Minister is right, the French reinforcements have arrived and our plan has failed.

If it continues, it will be difficult for us to obtain greater gains except for increased losses.

But it’s impossible to let go now. If we miss this opportunity, it will be even more difficult for us to intervene in the canal affairs in the future.

Judging from the current situation, with the support of us and Austria, the rebel army may not be able to separate one side.

It is still necessary to plant a nail in the Egyptian region for our future Suez Canal.

Besides, even if we let go now, the Austrians will not let go.

With their strength on the African continent, there is not much difference in essence with or without our participation.

As for the French, they have already been offended anyway, and they don't care about offending them deeper. "

This is very much in line with Britain's diplomatic principles, and everything is in line with interests.As for offending potential prospective allies, that's not a problem. John Bull, who even cheats on allies, doesn't care about it at all.

Hearing this answer made Prime Minister Gladstone very uncomfortable.

The intention to recall Lieutenant General Jerez was very obvious, but he was ruthlessly rejected by the Foreign Minister. Anyone who changed would feel uncomfortable.

However, the cabinet is not the sole discretion of Gladstone, and he must carefully consider the opinions of the foreign minister.

If the rebels are abandoned and the Austrians take advantage of it, and finally save a part of the rebels to rule on one side, Britain will be taken advantage of.

At that time, the opposition party will definitely take the opportunity to attack.The spittle of the people can make them step down.

To put it bluntly, there has never been a so-called friendship between Britain and France, but only hatred.

This is already the consensus of the people of the two countries. Whether the London government is willing to admit it or not, the concept has already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Gladstone frowned, and said very dissatisfied: "Sir, don't forget that Fao's strength has become unbalanced.

Continuing to weaken the French will only make Austria's advantages more obvious, and the fragile European balance will easily be broken in the long run. "

Foreign Secretary George shook his head: "Your Excellency, these are just possibilities, not necessarily happening.

In essence, Austria's advantages are also limited to economics.Militarily, they have little advantage over the French.

This can be seen from the German unification plan of the Vienna government.

If they were strong enough, they would have done it long ago, and there is no need to wait until now.

Although Russia and Austria are allies, in fact they also have strategic conflicts. If Austria really has the strength to overwhelm the French to dominate the European continent, the Russia-Austria alliance can also become a France-Russia alliance.

Before the unification of the German region, Austria did not have the strength to fight against two.It is impossible for the Vienna government to be unaware of this point, so the continental balance is essentially stable. "

For this reason, Prime Minister Gladstone had nothing to say.On the surface, Austria does have an advantage in continental Europe, but the poor strategic position offsets this part of the advantage.

If there really is a dominance, then Austria will not only face the French-Austrian alliance, but may also become the Triple Alliance of Britain, France and Russia, and may even add North Germany.

Seeing the embarrassment of the scene, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Hugh Childers, reminded: "You two, this issue can be put on hold for the time being, and we can discuss it later.

Now we have to seriously consider food self-sufficiency programs.Recently, there has been an increasing call for food self-sufficiency in China.

If it continues, the odds of passing the proposal in Parliament are as high as 90.00%[-].At that time, it will be difficult for us to oppose it. "

Undoubtedly, the most opposed to the "food self-sufficiency plan" in the London government is the Treasury.Britain is indeed a big business, but high income is also accompanied by high expenditure.

The Royal Navy is the biggest gold-eating beast, and its annual consumption of funds is not weaker than the sum of the military expenditures of the Austrian Army and Navy.

Now to start the food self-sufficiency plan is another huge loss project.And it's not a loss for one or two years, but a loss for many years.

For a business that is destined to lose money and see no return, the chancellor of the exchequer is naturally unwilling to waste money.

Colonial Secretary Primrose retorted: "Sir, you are too pessimistic. Everything has two sides. Although the food self-sufficiency plan cannot pay back in the short term, its incidental value is not low.

This plan is not just about agriculture, but also involves a lot of infrastructure construction, including water conservancy projects and road transportation.

Once the construction of supporting facilities is completed, the attractiveness of the colony to immigrants will be greatly increased.

The influx of a large number of labor forces will further promote the development of the colonial economy, and the finances of the colonial government will be greatly improved.

Many colonies that originally lost money will also turn their losses into profits.On the whole, our investment is not a loss. "

Sounds great, but in practice this is only in theory.The prosperity of the colonial economy, while increasing the government's fiscal revenue, will also attract messy ideas.

There is no doubt that national independence will definitely flood in the shortest possible time.

Although everyone agreed not to spread revolutionary ideas, just listen to it.Perhaps in order to avoid getting burned, everyone in the European continent will restrain themselves, but colonies will definitely not be considered.

Once nationalism spread, the rule of the colonial government was bound to increase greatly.

High income is accompanied by higher expenses. Whether it is a loss or a gain is hard to say.

However, it takes time to spread the idea of ​​national independence, and it will be beneficial in the short term.This means that the troubles are for the latecomers, but the political achievements are for the present.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Hudge Childers warned: "The Russians have taken a position that once we implement food self-sufficiency they will withdraw from the free trade system.

We have to consider the possible chain reaction of the Russian withdrawal.If all grain exporting countries withdraw from the free trade system, the consequences will be serious. "

It is not necessary for all grain exporting countries to withdraw from the free trade system. As long as Russia and Austria withdraw from the free trade system together, the system will no longer work.

In this era of the weak and the strong, the free trade system relies more on military support than political and diplomatic means.

Many small countries joined this system in order not to be rejected by everyone and to avoid being suppressed by the big powers.

This is why everyone can do nothing about the French withdrawal.France is a big country with its own strength, so if it wants to suppress it, it will inevitably pay a high price.

The income is not directly proportional to the effort, so naturally no one will be the first bird.

If Russia and Austria withdraw again, the land force responsibility of the free trade system will be completely abolished directly.No matter how powerful the Royal Navy is, it can't go ashore, and its deterrence is simply not enough.

Foreign Secretary George: "Nothing is ever perfect in this world, where there is gain, there is loss.

If we make a compromise because the Russians are threatening to withdraw from the free trade system, where is the face of Britain?

What if something like this happens again in the future?Should we continue to compromise, or flatly refuse? "

Britain also wants face, and compromise and concessions cannot hurt their face. It is a pity that the Russians did not realize this.

Negotiations and communication should have been carried out secretly, but they were brought to the table for discussion, so that the British government had to think twice before making a compromise.

If the fragile nerves of the domestic people are stimulated, and then the opposition party grabs hold of it, then things will be a big deal.

In a sense, the strong stance of the tsarist government strengthened the decision of the British government to a certain extent.

Prime Minister Gladstone sighed secretly, and said helplessly: "Our trade with the Russians is limited, and it is best to keep this market.

If it is not possible, then there is no need to be polite to the Russians.Anyway, Austria is also a vested interest in the free trade system, and it is impossible for the Vienna government to withdraw. "

Chapter 71 The Attack of the French

In the evening, four or five military officers gathered around a bonfire, and no one spoke for a long time. The atmosphere was very depressing.

This is exactly Hu Tier and others. Judging from the scene, it is known that this is a lost battle.Busy running for his life, otherwise there would be no temporary headquarters.

The most active Potiorek was the first to break the silence: "You guys are talking, all of you are crying, as if someone died at home.

Isn't it just a defeat?From the beginning we all planned to fight and run, but this time we were a little bit embarrassed. "

Among the insurgents who really belonged to their own people, there were only a few sitting here, and the others were cannon fodder, and they didn't care about life or death at all.

Sad and uncomfortable, certainly not because of the heavy casualties of cannon fodder.To put it bluntly, as long as everyone is willing, the mob troops like the Eighth Division can continue to add later.

What really frustrates everyone is the defeat, and it is not an ordinary defeat.

In order to achieve greater results, the rebel army made full use of the first-hand advantage and ambushed the vanguard of the French army on the way.

The front went very smoothly, and the French were caught off guard and plunged into the encirclement.

However, Hutil and others predicted the beginning, but did not guess the end.

Even if the ambush was successful, the French were caught off guard, and the rebel army still had an absolute advantage in strength, but in the end they still did not avoid the fate of failure.

If you fail, you fail, and it is normal for there to be winners and losers on the battlefield.It is a pity that the French chased the rout and killed them all the way to the camp of the rebel army. The Eighth Division, which had been prepared for a long time, was still defeated.

Seeing that the general situation was over, Hutil and others resolutely chose to run away.Fortunately, the number of routs was so large that the French did not notice them, so they escaped.

After getting out of danger, the rebel army with an army of more than 20 at its peak has now disappeared.

The rest either died in battle, or were captured by the French. Of course, more of them fled to the countryside after being defeated.

After lighting a cigarette and taking a deep breath, Hutier said slowly, "This is my responsibility. I know that the French are not easy to mess with, but I still have to be greedy to take advantage of it.

As a result, the rebel army suffered heavy losses, lost their morale, and lost their ability to continue fighting the French. "

Naturally, Hutil was not the only one who was not greedy enough. The progress in the early stage was smooth, which made everyone overestimate their own command ability.

The ambush of the vanguard of the French army was a decision made by everyone. However, in the face of absolute strength, any strategy and tactics are not worth mentioning.

Falkenhayn: "Lieutenant Colonel, there is no need to blame yourself. The ambush plan was formulated by us together, and all of us present will be held accountable.

Before sending us here, Governor Friedrich clearly told us to learn to save our lives before causing trouble for the French.

The country has never had confidence in the rebel army, and did not ask us to save the rebel army.

In fact, the situation has developed to this point, we have completed the task, there is no so-called responsibility.

As for this loss, we had expected it, but we didn't expect to lose so badly, and we didn't have time to play a role in our preparations.

But it's normal to think about it. Two months ago, the main force of the rebel army ambushed the vanguard of the French army, and the ending was a little bit better than ours.

Considering that this time it is the main force of the French army transferred from the country, its combat effectiveness is stronger than that of the colonial troops, in fact we..."

Although the reasoning is good, it is not easy for everyone, including Falkenhayn himself.

This and Waner's stock encountered three daily limit boards in a row, and was about to sell to cash out, but the lack of greed left it for a while, and ushered in a sharp drop again, so it was painful to sell.

The income at hand has shrunk, no matter how much I comfort myself: I have made money anyway, but I still feel uncomfortable.

It didn't last long, and the elder Houtier recovered: "Okay, this is the end of the matter, it's useless to say more.

This time they encountered only the forward troops of the French army. Their strength was limited, and they seemed to have won the victory. They could not stop the rebel soldiers from running around.

Everyone must be aware of the destructive power of the rout. Some of the 10,000+ routs have blood feuds with the French. They can't beat the French head-on, so can't they wreak havoc behind the scenes?

Originally, we were still thinking about leaving some soldiers here to fight guerrillas, but everyone's fighting spirit was not enough to make assignments. Now the French have completed the plan for us.

Next..."

This is not pure self-comfort. Since failure is inevitable, we can only find the good side from failure.

……

In the temporary palace in Paris, since receiving the news of Egypt's victory, the haze on Napoleon IV's face has been swept away.

Recently, he has been under too much pressure.A group of food exporting countries in the world are making trouble for him every day; the people in China are not worried, and come here every now and then to hold demonstrations.

Although the news of Egypt's victory on the battlefield cannot solve international troubles, it is enough to appease the domestic people.

Foreign Secretary Terence Bulkin: "Your Majesty, Anglo-Russian relations have deteriorated sharply as a result of the British food self-sufficiency programme.

Not long ago, the Tsarist government threatened to withdraw from the free trade system in an attempt to force the British government to make concessions. The opportunity we have been waiting for has come. "

Alternative life is difficult. As the only country in the European continent that is outside the free trade system, France bears too many strange eyes.

Although on the surface, the Paris government made a look of disdain, but the sadness and pain in it are only clear to them.

Tariff barriers also need to pay a price. While restricting the entry of other people's goods into the mirror, it is naturally inevitable to be restricted by others.

Affected by this, France's total import and export trade dropped by almost three-quarters.

It is impossible to return to the free trade system, at least until the French industry gains an advantage, the Paris government will not consider this issue.

Then the only way is to bring down this system, bring everyone back to the era of tariff barriers, and then obtain a relatively fair competition opportunity.

Napoleon IV wondered: "The British are still discussing in the parliament and have not made a resolution. Should the Russians be in such a hurry?"

Foreign Secretary Terrence Bulkin explained: "Your Majesty, the Russian Empire is the world's number one exporter of raw grain.

Our farm plan has already caused them heavy losses.If the British market is lost again, Russian agriculture will be hit hard.

Moreover, after losing the source of income from grain exports, Russia's finances will soon fall into a predicament of making ends meet, and it is normal for the tsarist government to be unable to sit still. "

After contemplating for a moment, Napoleon IV said slowly, "You mean to take the opportunity to win over the Russians and dismantle the free trade system?"

Terence Bulkin shook his head: "Not only the free trade system, but also the Russia-Austria alliance.

As long as the British plan becomes a reality, the Austria-led grain export alliance will immediately collapse, and the major grain exporting countries will fall into brutal competition.

No matter how good the relationship between Russia and Austria is, Austria itself is a grain exporter, and in the context of shrinking international markets, they have no way to consume the huge production capacity of the Russians.