Chapter 238 Terrible Disease

Palace of Versailles

Auvergne, the foreign secretary, said: "Your Majesty, the New Holy Roman Empire's Minister in Paris has sent us a diplomatic note, and they propose that our two countries act jointly on the Greek question.

It seems that the Vienna government is worried that the British will take the opportunity to annex the Greek kingdom and threaten their interests. "

The population of Greece in this era just exceeded one million. After this war, the young people in Greece suffered serious losses.

If the British intended to turn the Greek kingdom into their colony, this was not very difficult.

This worry is obviously not superfluous. The annexation of Greece can bring a lot of benefits to the British strategically. It can not only block the door of the Russians entering the Mediterranean, but also increase their right to speak in the Near East.

In this case, the Paris government is also very worried. The cake in the Near East is so big. If the British take too much, they will inevitably crowd out their local interests.

Napoleon III thought for a while and said: "The annexation of the Greek kingdom by the British is very unfavorable to our Near East strategy. We will send people to talk to the Austrians. As long as the conflict of interest is not serious, we will join hands with them."

Against the British alone, Napoleon III was still very cowardly, but with Austria he was fearless. In this era, the strength gap between Britain, France, Russia, and Austria has not yet widened. Even if the British have an advantage, they cannot achieve one against two.

Common interests are always the basis for cooperation. France and the New Holy Roman Empire have a battle for hegemony on the European continent. It stands to reason that the two sides should have many contradictions.

But now the hegemon of the European continent is still a Russian. Before Mao Xiong fell, the two countries were only substitute players, and it was not time to turn their faces.

Affected by the anti-French war, every move of France on the European continent will be closely watched by everyone.

Against this background, any foreign expansion of France on the European continent may be misinterpreted by the outside world and boycotted by everyone. The Paris government has to keep a low profile at this time.

The New Holy Roman Empire is also keeping a low profile. Although Austria has been developing in Franz's hands for more than four years, this development has only allowed Austria to keep up with the pace of the times, and has not formed an advantage over other countries.

After the annexation of the southern German region, the newly established New Holy Roman Empire entered a period of internal integration, and there is no energy to do things in the short term, and Franz has no plans to compete for hegemony on the European continent.

The two companies are very peaceful, and the Fao conflict naturally hasn't ignited, which undoubtedly creates favorable conditions for the next cooperation.

Interior Minister Pessini analyzed: "Your Majesty, the Austrians may not have such a simple purpose.

According to what we know, since the failure of the unification of the German region, the voices within the Vienna government for the establishment of overseas colonies have begun to grow louder.

Now that the situation on the European continent has stabilized, the Austrians' road to unification of the German region has been broken, and Russia and Austria on the Balkans should have reached an agreement.

Whatever the outcome of the war in the Near East, the Austrian expansion on the European continent was at its limit. Even the benefits they obtained in the Balkans can be eaten up in the end is a question mark.

In this context, the Austrians are likely to abandon the national policy of the Metternich era and restart the overseas colonial strategy.

It is necessary for us to prepare in advance, and a new opponent will enter the field in the future. "

Not long ago, the Paris government determined the next national policy - temporarily abandoning the expansion on the European continent and focusing on the development of overseas colonies.

Now that Austria has joined overseas colonial activities, the French must be wary of course.

It is still the era of sailing, and the navies of various countries have not opened the epoch-making distance in technology. The European powers with a foundation want to explode the navy, and the difficulty has not reached the point of despair.

Of course, this does not mean that the French are afraid of Austria's participation in overseas colonization. On the contrary, the French had an absolute advantage over Austria in overseas colonization.

However, the competitors for overseas colonization are not only one Austria, everyone has many opponents. Usually, everyone will restrain each other when they compete for colonies.

As long as it is not a competition for core interests, it is basically just a game of power in a certain area, and it is rare to fight with all your strength.

If there is a disagreement and the fight starts, then the winner takes all. Obviously this is impossible. With so many competitors, one will be suppressed, and new countries will emerge.

After going on like this, they are busy suppressing their opponents, and there is no energy to open up colonies. Colonial expansion is also limited, and blind expansion is likely to lose the bottom line.

Not all land has the value of colonization; even in the same area, the final benefits of different countries' rule are not the same.

Colonies with no strategic value and average economic value are usually occupied by whoever takes it first; if a colony with high strategic value and rich interests is to be found, then a battle between the two will be inevitable.

After the mid-19th century, there were disputes between countries for overseas colonies, but very few wars between colonial empires were triggered by the struggle for colonies.

The reason is that the most fertile land has been divided up by everyone, and the remaining land is not worth waging war. In the final analysis, everyone is for profit, and no one does business at a loss.

After contemplating for a while, Napoleon III confidently said: "For us, this should be a good thing, the Austrians started overseas colonization, and it is bound to increase the development of the navy.

In this way, the military pressure on our homeland will be much less. Compared to the Austrians, we are at sea

The advantage may be much larger than on land.

Due to the geographical location, the Austrians were at a natural strategic disadvantage in the competition for overseas colonies.

Unless they only develop to the African continent in the Mediterranean Sea, or to develop in other regions, they have to pass under our noses and under the eyes of the British.

The more power they invest overseas, the less they will dare to turn against us in the future diplomatically, otherwise we can jam their necks at any time. "

After speaking, Napoleon III's expression darkened. The situation in Austria was indeed as he said, the opening of overseas colonies was at a disadvantage, exposing their weaknesses to them.

But the British who control the Strait of Gibraltar have their necks stuck. In the event of a war between the two countries, the British could always split the French navy in two, leaving them side-by-side.

Why did the Austrian government give up establishing colonies overseas? Is it really because they are not interested in the benefits of colonies?

Obviously it is impossible. Everyone knows that overseas colonization can bring huge benefits. But for overseas colonization, Austria's geographical location is too pitiful, and they suffered losses during the overseas colonization process.

It’s okay if it doesn’t grow and develop. With Austria’s strength, colonies with average strategic value and average economic value can still be kept. Once they encounter fat, they will definitely not be able to grab Britain and France.

Just for a few colonies with low strategic value and low economic value, a lot of financial resources were invested in the development of the navy. In the view of the previous Austrian government, such efforts and rewards were not proportional.

But times are changing. With the development of industrialization, the overseas colonies that used to be tasteless have once again shown their value.

Don't look at the fact that Austria seems to suffer from a geographical disadvantage, but Franz knows that with the development of naval technology, this weakness will become smaller and smaller in the future.

In the era of sailing warships, the overseas colonies of Austria traveled thousands of nautical miles longer than Britain and France, which was very deadly and meant a double increase in cost and risk.

However, with the advent of the ironclad era and the use of steam engines on warships, the problem of distance is being gradually solved.

Especially after the passage of the Suez Canal, Austria's voyage out of the Mediterranean Sea into the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean will be greatly reduced, and the safety will be greatly improved.

This is also one of the reasons why the Vienna government eased relations with France. Franz proposed to dig a canal to connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

This needs to be done in cooperation with the French. Austria's right to speak in Egypt is still too low. Even if Franz has strengthened his penetration into this area after he succeeded to the throne, it is impossible to catch up in a short time.

...

On the Crimea Peninsula, Britain, France and Russia fought a tragic war. The casualties on the battlefield are still within the tolerance of all parties.

However, the humid climate, a wide variety of small insects, and the infestation of ferocious schistosomiasis have brought about the spread of diseases and caused a large number of non-combat attritions, which is unbearable.

By the spring of 1854, the non-combat attrition of the Union army exceeded the number of casualties on the battlefield for the first time. Of course, the Russians were not spared, but they were more able to adapt to the local climate than the coalition, and the number of non-combat attrition was relatively small.

Fitzroy Somerset, the commander of the Russian army, could never have imagined that it was not the arrival of new equipment that leveled the casualties of the enemy and our side, but disease helped a lot.

Of course, he hasn't had the time to pay attention to this. Now Fitzroy Somerset is also suffering from the fact that a large number of soldiers in the Russian army have fallen ill.

If he knew the tragedy of the coalition forces, it is estimated that Fitzroy Somerset would be in a much better mood. If possible, he would not mind letting the Russian army and the enemy on the island perish together.

This war is already related to the national destiny of the Russian Empire. The war has come to this point, and more than 300,000 Russian soldiers have fallen. In the Crimea Peninsula alone, the number of Russian casualties exceeded 70,000.

A middle-aged officer reported back: "Your Excellency Commander, recently the enemy has slowed down its offensive intensity. According to the accounts of the prisoners we captured, a large number of soldiers on the enemy's side have fallen ill. It is said that they have contracted the cold, dysentery, etc. syphilis."

"Syphilis?" asked Fitzroy Somerset in confusion.

"Yes, Your Excellency Commander, it is syphilis!" The middle-aged officer replied affirmatively.

Receiving this answer, Fitzroy Somerset didn't know whether to cry or laugh. Apart from the war, there is very little entertainment on the Crimean peninsula.

Gambling, tobacco, alcohol and women are the favorites of the soldiers.

Russian soldiers rarely participate in these activities, and there is no way. Who makes the Russian soldiers all poor ghosts? If you don't have money, you can't afford to play, and if you play less, the chance of getting sick will naturally be smaller.

The Anglo-French coalition forces on the opposite side are much better. Everyone has military salaries, and if there is market demand, there will naturally be a market. The service industry is booming in the coalition forces.

They are all messing around on the battlefield. After today, I don’t know if there is a Lord of tomorrow, so naturally I have to have fun in time!

Because of not paying attention to personal hygiene, it is unknown which unlucky person was infected with syphilis, and then quickly spread throughout the army through the service industry.

(Note: Over 10,000 people died of syphilis in the Crimean War in history)

There is no effective treatment for syphilis in this age. The most reliable way is to take antibiotics when they are just infected. Unfortunately, penicillin is still lying in Franz's laboratory, and it is still far from commercial operation.

Since there are no drugs

, then just resign yourself to the fate and boil it directly! Anyway, the normal mortality rate of syphilis is only about 20%, and most people with good luck can resist it.

Considering the poor environment in the military camp and the lack of personal hygiene by the soldiers, this death rate may increase further.

These are all minor problems. Wind chills and dysentery can also kill people, and the mortality rate is not much lower. Anyway, they are all dead, what kind of disease is not the same?

It's not just the Russians who are underserved and underserved. The situation in the coalition is similar. Among them, the situation of the British army was even worse, with a chaotic logistics system, and most soldiers did not know where the field hospital was.

It may not be useful when you arrive at the hospital. The number of doctors is too small to satisfy everyone. Unless they are officers, ordinary soldiers don't want to get good treatment if they don't stuff red envelopes.

Many therapeutic medicines require soldiers to bribe quartermasters to get them, otherwise you won't even know where the medicines are stored.

If you find that the medicine and the hospital are separated by several kilometers, don't be surprised, don't panic, this is just a normal operation, even if it is more than ten kilometers apart, it is not an accident.

The mechanical bureaucrats acted in full accordance with the regulations. Many times the field hospital was relocated with the army, and the drug warehouse was stranded in the rear. You must complete all the programs before you can move.

Tell a joke: a transport ship called the "Pioneer" transported more than 150 tons of vegetables to Balaclava, but the military department suddenly found that the ship was not in complete procedures, so it was strictly forbidden to disembark the materials it carried.

According to regulations, these materials can only be registered and put into storage after returning to London to complete the procedures. The final procedures were completed, and the more than 150 tons of vegetables were also rotten and deteriorated.

Logically, it should be scrapped, right? As a result, the mechanical bureaucrats directly put these materials into the warehouse, and then distributed them to the troops.

The consequences can be imagined. In post-war statistics in history, the losses caused by the British logistics department to the expeditionary force far exceeded that of the Russians.