Holy Roman Empire

In addition to remaining sane in politics, I have completely indulged myself in daily life.In a world where entertainment is scarce, it's no surprise to pick up old hobbies.

As for whether the hobbies are too unusual and will attract attention, that is no longer within the scope of Franz's consideration.

The only regret is that Franz's painter was not at home, and the picture of birds facing the phoenix that he imitated under his artistic processing turned into a picture of chickens pecking rice.

It doesn't matter, anyway, these guys present can't tell the difference between grass chicken and phoenix.As for whether it will distort everyone's aesthetics, it is not within the scope of Franz's consideration.

In fact, Franz was also forced to play ink painting.Because his oil painting skills are also not good enough, he is ashamed to show it to others.You can only play with things that people don't understand, and it's convenient to use it to pretend to fool people.

Well, in the upper class, if you don't have a bit of artistic talent, it's easy to be despised as a bumpkin.

Professionals looked at it, and it was completely overthinking.If you don't believe me, just take a pair out for auction, as long as it is stamped with Franz's seal, it will definitely be more valuable than the authentic painting of the saint.

A work of art that has withstood the test of the market is a real work of art.If there is a problem with the work, it must be because of insufficient artistic accomplishment.

After seeing the emperor's special hobbies, everyone got used to it.It's nothing more than some incomprehensible calligraphy and paintings, which are nothing at all.

Foreign Minister Leo stepped forward and replied: "Your Majesty, the reaction of the international community is very fierce. No country wants us to break out of war with the British, including our allies.

Since the news got out, the phone number of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been ringing with people, all of them came to inquire about the situation.

Among them, the Dutch were the most active, communicating overnight with more than ten countries including Belgium, Spain, and the Nordic Federation, preparing for diplomatic mediation. "

The news of a possible outbreak of war caused the entire European world to lose sleep, and Franz also set a record.

But it’s not surprising to think about it. When the war broke out between Shinra and Britain, each European country counted as one, and they all had to suffer losses. The only difference was that the degree of damage was different.

Among other things, everyone's maritime trade is useless.Once war breaks out, the two sides are bound to block each other.

Shinra wanted to block Britain, so he had to pull European countries to do it together, or it would be useless.

The same is true for the British. Just cutting off the overseas trade of the Holy Roman Empire and not blocking other European countries, is it still a blockade?

If the overseas trade lines are cut off, what will happen to the two big hooligans is not necessarily true, but many small countries will definitely suffer heavy losses.

If it lasted for a short period of time, it would be fine, and everyone would grit their teeth and hold on, and the matter would be over; if the war dragged on, and the outcome would not be determined, it would be a tragedy for everyone.

Especially several countries that rely on ocean trade may collapse directly because of the war.

In this context, it is normal for everyone to react violently.If there is no response, that is the problem.

After completing the last point, he put down his pen, picked up a towel and wiped his hands, Franz said slowly: "Let's formally contact other countries!

They want to engage in diplomatic mediation, so don't stop them.Countries will not easily submit without experiencing failure.

Tell them that as long as the British are willing to maintain the status quo, they can sign a peace agreement with them.

When necessary, in order to show our peace-loving sincerity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can unilaterally make a promise not to start a war on its own initiative, so as to buy time for the construction of warships. "

In the face of international interests, a treaty is a waste of paper, and a promise is a joke.

In recent decades, the Vienna government has not defaulted on the contract, it is only because the default leverage is not large enough.

When it comes to world hegemony, it is completely different.As long as it can fool the British and lay the foundation for winning the war, even if it loses the credibility of the government, it is worth it.

Well, Franz didn't hold out hope either.The British are not stupid. Maintaining the status quo does not include stopping shipbuilding.

It's just that this batch of warships is now in service, and the Royal Navy can barely resist it, and it won't get out of control.

But if it follows the old calendar and builds more than a dozen dreadnoughts every year, the British government can only go berserk.

There is no doubt that Franz can do this kind of thing.At this crossroad, there is no room for him to back down.

Domestic interest groups, large and small, now want to overthrow the top-ranked cake of the British. How can they just quit if they just say quit.

Foreign Secretary Leo: "Yes, Your Majesty! I will implement it later, and promise to leave the responsibility for instigating the war to the British."

Although the Vienna government has formulated a detailed combat plan, there is still no accurate conclusion on when the war will be launched.

But one thing is certain, that is, the later the war breaks out after the dumplings start, the better.

Against this background, it has become possible from impossible to blame the British for initiating the war.

As long as it drags, time is on Shinra's side.The fact that the Vienna government can delay it does not mean that the British can also delay it.

According to the most popular theory, whoever can't help but start a war first is the instigator of the war.

As for the cause and effect, just ignore it, ordinary people don't have so many thoughts.

If it's just an ordinary war, it doesn't matter who started it first.This time is different. A war between Shinra and Britain will bring disaster to a large group of pond fish.

Encountered an indiscriminate disaster, we must give everyone an outlet to vent their grievances.

Although the hegemony of the world is not immune to scolding, it is better to let the British stand on top of the tank than to come out and spread hatred by yourself.

Chapter 119 Seeing Through

London

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the Empire is preparing to launch a war against the Holy Roman Empire, has it been approved by the Parliament?"

"Your Excellency, why did you start this war? What can we gain?"

"Your Excellency, is the empire ready? How high are our chances of winning?"

……

After waking up, Prime Minister Campbell, who was still in a daze, was surrounded by reporters as soon as he went out.

An overwhelming number of questions swept towards him frantically.There are countless hidden traps among them. With his experienced experience, Campbell knew that these reporters were going to make trouble again.

For these unscrupulous media, as long as there is big news that can increase newspaper sales, it doesn't really matter whether Britain will fight Shinra.

After a short pause, Prime Minister Campbell waved his hand and said, "The government will hold a special press conference to answer these questions.

Now I can only tell you that the government is not prepared to launch a war against the Holy Roman Empire, but we are not afraid of war.

Please don't believe the rumors circulating in the market. Great Britain is a peace-loving country. We are willing to work with peace-loving countries all over the world to maintain world peace. "

After getting rid of the reporter, Campbell's face suddenly became gloomy.The reporter came so quickly, it was obvious that someone was organizing and planning behind the scenes.

If he hadn't reacted quickly and fooled the past in time, he might have been in deep siege by now.

The British system is already very perfect, and the government has no right to launch a war against a big country without the approval of the Parliament.

On the issue of safeguarding their own power, members of parliament have never relaxed.But as long as there is a little rumor, Campbell can't even think about having a good life.

Campbell has no energy to condemn the shameless behavior of his competitors.The biggest problem at the moment is that the window paper has been pierced, and Britain has been pushed to the edge of a cliff.

"Sneak attack" and "lure the enemy" are all out of the question.All reporters know that there is going to be a war between Britain and Shinra, and that means the whole world knows about it.

……

Furious, Campbell called an emergency cabinet meeting.

"The news has leaked out, and the public opinion is very unfavorable to us. Some time ago, we proposed to strengthen the strategic material reserve, which is now considered evidence by the outside world.

The opposition party will not let go of this opportunity. According to the inherent routine, the reporters usually start first, and then the parliamentarians ask questions.

If there is no reasonable explanation, the rest of our days will be very difficult.In order to prevent the situation from deteriorating, we must come up with a plan today. "

Infighting is an integral part of British politics.The critical situation is only their experience, and the opposition party can't feel it.

Unlike the high-level officials of the Shinra government, who climbed up step by step, the top officials of the British government all climbed to the sky step by step from the election.

Even if there is an excess, it is only a few days of being a troll in the parliament.Only a minority have experience in government.

Even if you have a job experience, it has a gold-plated meaning, which is higher than the actual meaning.Most of the time, they are only named and do not perform specific duties.

Of course, this does not mean that the top government officials are idiots.To be able to win complex political struggles and stand out from the election all the way is impossible without extraordinary ability.

What everyone lacks is governance experience. Generally speaking, after being elected, there will be a professional team to help spread relevant knowledge, and there will also be an advisory group to assist in handling government affairs.

How effective it is depends on whether there are too many wonderful policies during his tenure.Generally speaking, the worse the personal ability of the prime minister, the greater the appetite of interest groups, and the more messy policies will be introduced.

If you have a strong learning ability, or have been exposed to relevant knowledge in advance, it is also no problem to get rid of these advisory groups full of interest groups.

But anyone who wants to make a difference must get rid of the dependence on the advisory group and jump out of the circle drawn by interest groups.

However, these are all post-election matters.When ordinary politicians are in opposition, they have no access to relevant knowledge at all, so naturally they don't need to think so much.

This is also the reason why political families are more likely to succeed.In terms of innate knowledge, everyone is not on the same level.

Now is no exception. In the eyes of most British people, the Royal Navy is still invincible across the world, and the British Empire is still in full swing.

The rise of the Holy Roman Empire was indeed a trouble, but only trouble.With the Royal Navy at hand, Britain fears no enemy.

As for the deeper gaps in national power, industry, and population...all of them are beyond the scope of everyone's knowledge.

It's not that there are no "sighted people" who come out to do science popularization, but now is the most glorious era in Britain. Everyone is immersed in the glory of the empire on which the sun never sets, and they simply turn a blind eye to the crisis.

The ignorant are fearless.I don't know the difference in national power between the two sides, and I still think that Britain is the empire that the sun never sets, so there is no pressure to drag it back.

Foreign Secretary Adam: "The news of our preparations for war should not have been leaked, otherwise the opposition party has already launched a attack, and the outside world will not be so peaceful at all.

Judging from the current situation, it is likely that someone infers that we are going to war with Shinra based on the current international situation.

Or the Vienna government is aware of our intentions and deliberately released news in an attempt to disrupt our strategic layout.

The opposition party just took advantage of this opportunity and used the power of the media to fuel the flames.If they had any evidence that we planned war, they would have gone to parliament to impeach them.

In a sense, the current situation is also a good thing for us.

By directly bringing to light the conflict between the Empire and Shinra, we can also take the opportunity to promote the threat theory of Shinra and prepare for the next war.

So far, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received inquiries from many European countries, as well as peace proposals led by the Dutch government.

On the surface, this is because European countries do not want this war to break out, but the deeper reason is not the fear of the Holy Roman Empire?

You must know that during the European War, the Vienna government responded to all calls and formed an anti-French alliance without much cost. "

Don't look at Adam's sound analysis, in fact, he is also panicked inside.No matter who released the news, the enemy will take precautions.

I was already worrying about how to fool the main force of the Shinra Navy to come out, but now that the enemy is prepared, it will be even more difficult to achieve.

Unable to severely injure the Shinra Navy at the first time of the war, their quick-fix plan was declared bankrupt.

Once the war lasted, Britain's good times were over.Among other things, the European market is completely gone.

Just look at the reactions of European countries.Everyone is against the war between the two countries. In addition to worrying about being on the wrong side, more importantly, they are worried about the continuation of the war.

From the perspective of the outside world, the Holy Roman Empire has the advantage of land power, while Britain has the advantage of sea power. If there is a fight, no one can do anything for a while.

The Netherlands reacted the most violently. In addition to their geographical location, the most important thing is that they rely heavily on maritime trade.

Once the war between Britain and Shinra falls into a state of anxiety, mutual blockade is inevitable, and the interruption of maritime trade is inevitable.

If it's a short three-to-five-month friendly match, it doesn't matter, everyone just endured it.

If the war lasts for three to five years, there is no doubt that countries such as the Netherlands and Portugal, which rely heavily on overseas trade, will not collapse.

In this context, there is only one way for everyone to go, and that is to help one side win the war and end the trade blockade as soon as possible.

Either the European countries will follow Britain and jointly dismount Shenluo; or everyone will follow in the footsteps of Shenra and explode warships together to overthrow the Royal Navy.

There is no doubt that no matter who you hang out with, everyone will lose a lot.Especially the Netherlands, which is very likely to be reduced to a battlefield, will lose money even if it is the right person.

Don't expect to make up for your losses with loot, it's a cakewalk.The previous anti-French war is an example. In name, everyone received huge compensation, but the reality is that the French government has no money to pay.

No money means no money, regardless of your ability and means, the French government still can't make money.

If a bitter force like Belgium hadn't cut back a piece of land from France after the war, it would have lost everything.

The size of a small country is limited, and its strength cannot support its ambitions.It is estimated that other than the tsarist government, the only one who wants to benefit from the Anglo-Austrian War is the United States thousands of miles away.

It doesn't matter whether other countries have ambitions or not. Their own stomach is not good, they can't eat greasy food, and the meat can only be smelled when it is brought to their mouths.

As Britain's foreign minister, Adam's personal ability is still very strong.It's a pity that the reality is in front of him, no matter how much he can fool around, he is not sure to draw everyone to his side.

Of course, they can also follow the flexible diplomatic strategy of the original time and space, allowing countries to remain neutral and engage in overseas trade.

It's just that this requires the cooperation of the opponent. If the Vienna government doesn't buy it and insists on recruiting people into the group, everyone still has to choose a camp.

Can European countries withstand the diplomatic pressure of the Holy Roman Empire?

No one can answer this question.Theoretically speaking, as long as the European countries unite together to be neutral, the Vienna government can only pinch its nose and recognize it.

But this probability is too low, not all countries have the courage.The hearts of the people are not in harmony. As long as a few countries take the lead in standing in line, the rest can only stand in line.

The situation is already very dangerous for Britain.Once the operation is wrong, standing opposite Britain will not only be the Holy Roman Empire, but the entire European world.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Asquith: "My lord, the nations of Europe are ignorant, and their positions have never been firm.

Because of geopolitics, our influence on the European continent is simply not comparable to that of the Holy Roman Empire.

By purely political means, we may not necessarily be disadvantaged; but once the Vienna government resorts to military means and directly threatens to use force, it will be difficult for us to compete with them.