Holy Roman Empire

According to the contract, the war is over, and these mercenaries should be "repatriated".But now that the French and the Russians are fighting, who should the Spanish government hand over this "elite force"?

It is definitely not acceptable to hand it over to the resistance organization.If they did that, the Russians would definitely go crazy, and the entire anti-French alliance would have objections to Spain.

The Spanish government can't do this kind of thing that hurts others and benefits oneself, and asks for trouble.

In theory, the Russian Empire and Spain are both members of the anti-French alliance, and there is nothing wrong with handing over this mercenary to the Russians.

The problem is that what the tsarist government did was really unethical. If this mercenary was really handed over to the Russians, it would be to push them into a pit of fire.

Although the Russians also formed a French traitor cannon fodder unit in France, the Russians certainly did not dare to trust such an established former French army unit.

It is the same for any ruler, the elite troops that cannot be controlled can only be destroyed.

With Mao Xiong's style, he must not stop doing one thing and send these mercenaries back to China to repair the Siberian Railway.

In any case, the French mercenaries also made great military exploits for the Kingdom of Spain, so if they were sold out, the Spanish government still couldn't do it.

Since it is not appropriate to send it back, it can only be raised first.The problem is that the Spanish government is not rich. The war is over, and it is too wasteful to support more than [-] mercenaries.

……

Madrid

Prime Minister Antonio asked with concern: "How many people have we recruited?"

It is a waste to spend money to support mercenaries for a long time, but it is different to spend money to support your own army.

After seeing the combat effectiveness of the French mercenaries, Antonio found that his army was really helpless.

It's not that the Spaniards are not good at fighting. The main reason is that the army, like the country, has decayed.

Reform can never be completed overnight. Before the military reform is completed, the Spanish government still needs a force that can support the facade.

It does not seek to reach the world's top level, at least it must be able to beat the colonial rebels and maintain the stability of the colonial empire.

Now this mercenary from France can just meet the requirements.

If it was when France was strong, Antonio would never dare to have this idea.It's different now. France, which has been fighting for years, is obviously a phoenix with its hair plucked.

Except that the army can fight a little bit, everything else is not as good as Spain, including the population.

Although the total population of France is slightly larger at present, the young and strong labor force is less.If the current situation continues, the total population will be surpassed by Spain in a few years.

The balance of strength has changed, and so has the courage.Without the risk of doves occupying the magpie's nest, Antonio is ready to poach the corner of France.

Colonial Secretary Taboyada: "The progress is very good, and the French have long been tired of the endless wars.

After we set out the conditions, about one-fifth of the mercenaries were willing to immigrate with their families, and nearly one-third said they would seriously consider it. "

"Borrowed" is naturally due to the Spanish government's propaganda.Not all mercenaries like war, and even if they don't think about themselves, they have to think about their families.

Only after experiencing war can we know the value of peace.The six-year war has long since bored the French people, but they have no right to declare it over.

In order to avoid the scourge of war, a large number of French people immigrate overseas with their families every year.Those who have money buy tickets to leave, and those who have no money flee as refugees.

With the Russians in charge of pulling hatred at the front, the hatred of the European War is not worth mentioning at all.All countries bordering France, including Spain, have not received fewer refugees.

It is precisely because of accepting refugees that the Spanish government has the idea of ​​​​keeping mercenaries.Get the whole family here together, not afraid that these guys will be disobedient.

I dare not say too much, but the Spanish government still dares to accept hundreds of thousands of immigrants.Anyway, after years of fighting, France also has many boys and girls, which is easy to digest.

Prime Minister Antonio nodded in satisfaction: "Very good, with these seeds, we can mix up several main armies.

The following work will be handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and we will negotiate with other countries as soon as possible to get the family members of these people back.

As for the French who are unwilling to immigrate, don't force them. They can go back if they want to.But after sending them back to France, we will no longer be responsible for their safety. "

Sure enough, the integrity of the Spanish government is not much higher.If you don't want to hand over the mercenaries to the Russians, it's because you want to poach the wall.Once it is found that it cannot be used for it, it is also unambiguous to buy it.

Antonio is not afraid of spreading the news and damaging his international image.The French mercenaries did make great contributions, but the Spanish government did not fail to pay their salaries.

It was originally just a simple labor contract, and it was over when the money and goods were settled.

As long as the person is not delivered to the Russians in person, it is not a betrayal.As for what happened after being sent back to France, that has nothing to do with them.

Foreign Minister Junior: "Your Excellency, perhaps we can hand over this mercenary army to the Carlos government. Although they are now in exile, they are still the only legitimate government in France.

Our previous employment contract was also signed with the Carlos government, and returning people to them now is just a manifestation of our spirit of abiding by the contract. "

It's not that Junior is soft-hearted, it's mainly because he just poached a corner, and the emotions of new immigrants always need to be taken care of.

It is necessary to appease people's hearts, but not to offend the Russians to death.It is the best choice to hand over the trouble to the Carlos government.

As for the Carlos government that is already in exile, how to clean up the mess has nothing to do with Spain.

Anyway, King Carlos left by himself, and the Russians did not expel him. As long as he wants to, he can return to the country at any time.

It doesn't matter if you want to bring an army back home, after all, he is the legal king of France, and Spain has no reason to stop it.

……

The hard work of the Russian army in France was not without value.

The Trans-Siberian Railway has been launched, and the Russian workers on the Central Asian Railway have also been replaced by French workers. The Russian people are all shouting "The Tsar is wise".

This is the truth, after all, you don't have to do hard labor yourself, the tsar must be wise.As for the life and death of the French, what does it matter to them?

But the "wise" Nicholas II was not happy at the moment.Although the troops on the front line asked the Allied Command for help a few months ago, which made him lose face, they were also his own troops.

What's more, face is not lost in vain.At least the logistics of the frontline troops do not need to be paid by the Tsarist government.It is of great significance to the tsarist government, which was not rich at all.

As time went by, the number of casualties of the Russian army continued to expand, making Nicholas II feel his scalp tingling.

However, the resistance of the French did not weaken.According to the front-line officers, every Frenchman in sight, regardless of gender, age or age, may be a member of the guerrillas.

The more you beat the more enemies, the scalp will tingle when you encounter them.If it weren't for someone paying for the military expenses, the tsarist government could not help but shrink back.

Of course, it is still insisting, and it has nothing to do with Nicholas II being the new tsar.As the first war after succeeding to the throne, if you can't win Meiliangliang, it will be very detrimental to your reputation.

Compared with the tsar's reputation as a monarch, the life of the gray animal is not worth mentioning.On this issue, the top positions of the tsarist government were very unified.

Throwing away the telegram in his hand, Nicholas II complained in dissatisfaction: "We need reinforcements again, I really don't know what those idiots on the front line are doing!"

If there are casualties, it must be supplemented. The heavier the casualties of the Russian army on the front line, the more supplementary troops to provide in the rear.

Different from coughing and buckling in materials, when it comes to soldiers' supplement, the bureaucrats of the tsarist government rarely discount it.

Especially after the front line asked the Allied Command for help, no one dared to make trouble on this issue.After all, no one can guarantee that the gang of tough guys on the front line will not expose the matter.

This was the first war the Tsar had fought since he succeeded to the throne. If the Tsar thought it was against him, it would be over.

Political struggle is a struggle, but there must be a bottom line.The taboo that cannot be touched must not be touched, otherwise the official will be killed.

On this issue, Alexander II used thousands of heads to teach the Russian bureaucrats a hard lesson, and everyone still has lingering fears.

Although Alexander III was not so tough, he also dealt with many people who were not long-sighted.

The current Tsar Nicholas II, although his methods are a bit poor, but his ideals in life are great.On many occasions, he publicly stated that he should follow the example of his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father.

Everyone is not afraid to learn from Alexander III. If you learn from the previous two decisive and ruthless people, it will kill you.

Especially after the outbreak of the "Heden Massacre", everyone clearly felt that the Tsar's murderous aura was a little bit stronger.

Just look at what happened to the bureaucrats who embezzled front-line materials before. Not only were their homes ransacked, but now they are digging potatoes in Siberia one by one.

It is said that each person has to dig a trainload of potatoes and send them back, so that the sins committed before can be washed away.

The Trans-Siberian Railway has just started, and it is still far away from opening to traffic. Obviously, most of these unlucky people will never come back.

Facing the angry tsar, no one wants to go up and scold him.Others can pretend not to hear, but Sergei Witte, as Prime Minister, cannot hide.

"Your Majesty, this cannot be entirely blamed on the frontline officers, they have tried their best.

In the past six months, the frontline troops have sent 50 laborers to the country, and this number is gradually increasing.

Behind the French resistance organization, there are British people supporting it, so it is normal for it to take a little longer. "

It was really not Serge Witte who excused the front-line troops. The intensified resistance in France was forced out by the tsarist government's "forced recruitment".

If it weren't for being forced to have no choice, the French would not have resisted so fiercely.After all, people are afraid of death, and those who are truly not afraid of sacrifice are always a minority.

Although the integrity of politicians is generally low, there are still skills in throwing the blame.Throwing blame at will will cause people to betray each other sooner or later.

Domestic decrees have increased the pressure on the frontline troops, and then blamed the commanders of the frontline troops. Sergei Witte can't do such a stupid thing.

The prime minister also needs to take responsibility.When it's time to take the thunder, you must take the initiative to stand up.

Just look at the effect. When Sergei Witte spoke out, the military representatives liked him a lot.

Nicholas II sneered, and said sarcastically, "Is this a little bit longer, or a little bit longer?

If this continues, the Central Asia Railway will be opened to traffic.They can't wait for the opening of the Siberian Railway before they can put out the French rebels! "

Nicholas II doesn't care if reinforcements are not reinforcements.Anyway, there is no shortage of gray cattle in the Russian Empire, and there are people who pay for the war.

The point is that the French rebels could not be extinguished for a long time, and Nicholas II had no place to save his face.The tsar also needs to be compared. Compared with the performance of the previous heroes, Nicholas II's performance after succeeding to the throne is obviously not up to par.

Not only domestic people are comparing, but the international media often make fun of it.For the good-faced Nicholas II, this was absolutely intolerable.

Serge Witte hesitated to speak.When will the French Resistance be extinguished? Only God can answer this question.

Chapter 66 Best Allies

As the economy picks up, the fiscal revenue of the Vienna government has also risen accordingly.The government will not keep the money for children, and the fiscal revenue must be spent.

Less than halfway through 1897, departments were already gearing up to compete for the next year's budget.

The emperor went on vacation, and the decision-making power for budget allocation fell to the crown prince.Everyone can see that this is obviously the emperor paving the way for his son.

There is nothing to object to, and although the emperor is still in good health, he is still 67 years old.In this era when the average life expectancy is less than 50, it can be called "longevity".

No one can guarantee that the old emperor will suddenly meet God one day.From this point of view, it is also very necessary to exercise the crown prince in advance to avoid being in a hurry.

Unlike the bloody struggles of Eastern imperial power, European inheritance laws are relatively perfect, and even if there are occasional struggles, they are not so cruel.

At least the internal struggles of the Habsburg dynasty were not so fierce, otherwise Franz's uncle Ferdinand I would not have been able to inherit the throne.

In this context, it is not without precedent for the crown prince to act as the emperor in advance, although there are not many occurrences.

The most typical example is Franz himself. Since the Great Revolution, he has assumed the power of the emperor as the crown prince, and the Regency Committee obediently handed over the power.

Rules are rules, and as long as everyone sticks to them, there will be no problems.

It's the same when it comes to Frederick, and the situation is even better.

After all, Franz was alive and well, but had just gone on vacation.Although the vacation was a little long, it didn't hurt.

There is a highly respected emperor pressing down on it, and no matter what ideas the people below have, they have to be suppressed first.

Don't look at Franz seldom tossing, but the bureaucrats of the Vienna government will never forget the wonderful scene of "ten thousand people dismissed from office, and a hundred people in the crematorium".

If someone really counts carefully, he will find that there are more bureaucrats who fell in the Franz era than the sum of the hundreds of years since the founding of the Habsburg dynasty.

Of course, times are different and there is no comparison.The number of public officials in the Holy Roman Empire now far exceeds any previous period.

In the face of an emperor who dared to break the convention of "the law does not blame the public" and who wanted to increase the punishment, no one dared to act as a demon.

These are the lessons learned by the predecessors in exchange for blood.

Since the establishment of the civil service examination system, everyone has a group of substitute candidates.The detached position of the bureaucratic group in the past has long since ceased to exist.

……

Putting down the official document in his hand, Frederick asked helplessly: "Dear Minister, can you tell me what is the purpose of the Navy's shipbuilding?"

The word "respect" obviously accentuated the tone. It can be seen that Frederick was very unhappy with the "shipbuilding plan" submitted by the Ministry of the Navy.

On the surface, there are only a few battleships, dozens of cruisers and destroyers.Judging from the scale of the Shinra Navy, some warships have to be replaced every year, and it is not too much to build so many warships at one time.

The problem lies in the "renewal of warships".

There are also strict regulations on the retirement of Shinra's warships. Either the performance cannot keep up with the times, or the second-hand warships can be sold, otherwise they have to wait until the service period is completed.

After continuous upgrades in the past few years, it is now just in a window period, and no capital ship will be retired in the next three years.

If there is no retirement, there will be no replacement. With the navy's establishment unchanged, the government will not allocate additional funds to build capital ships in the next two years.

Without additional funding, the navy can get limited military expenditures every year, so naturally it cannot support the current shipbuilding plan.

If it is just to build dozens of warships, it is nothing more than a matter of 2000 million Aegis. As a master who personally manipulated the listing of an oil company worth billions, Frederick would not have such a big reaction.

The problem is that the navy has never been just a matter of warships. Once the number of warships increases, the naval establishment will also increase accordingly.

It seems that they just want to build a few more ships, but in fact they want to expand the army.That's not something that can be done with 2000 million, but tens of millions of Aegis's expenses will be added every year.

The Holy Roman Empire is a country with land power. If the navy increases its military expenditure, the army will definitely not be ambiguous, and the air force will most likely join in the fun.