Chapter 581: The Attacking French

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is winter again.

With Franz's years of experience, it can be judged that this is a warm winter. It usually snows in Glockner at this time. This year, let alone snow, there is even very little rain.

The mild winter + drought has almost announced that the agricultural production in the coming year will be reduced. Austria is a big industrial country as well as a big agricultural country, and agriculture occupies an important position in the national economy.

The Vienna government has always attached great importance to agricultural production. After years of efforts, the domestic agricultural infrastructure has tended to be perfected, and a complete disaster response system has been established.

Usually, Franz wouldn't bother as long as it wasn't a nationwide disaster. It now caught his attention, mainly in Vienna.

Minister of Agriculture Halls: "Your Majesty, the current situation is not too bad. According to the data monitored by various places, the scope of the disaster is not very large.

It is mainly concentrated in the surrounding areas of Vienna and Bohemia. In these areas, industry and commerce are relatively developed, and the people have a strong ability to resist risks. The reduction of winter wheat production will not cause much impact. "

This is a benefit brought by the industrial age. In economically developed areas, it has become a common social phenomenon for farmers to work in cities during the slack farming period.

Increasing the source of income naturally increases the ability to resist risks. If it is still in an agricultural society, the government should be more vigilant.

Franz just asked casually that the reduction of food production within a certain range is within the range of Austria, and "disaster relief" is not needed.

The reduction in production is not a total harvest. The reduction of 180 catties per mu of land is not enough to make farmers go bankrupt. Unless the disaster is ongoing, government relief is needed, otherwise, the people can get through the disaster by themselves.

...

Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Your Majesty, news has just come from Paris that the French are preparing to send troops to escort the son of Isabella II to return home, and the battle for the Spanish throne is coming to an end.

Judging from the information collected, Britain and France should have reached an agreement. The Foreign Office believed that it might be related to the war in the Near East, and the London government made concessions on the dispute over the Spanish throne in exchange for the French support for them in the Near East. "

Unsurprisingly, if the British wanted to keep the Ottoman Empire, they had to pull the French.

Although the Paris government is constantly fighting infighting, they also do not want to see Austria pull out the nails behind it. The British conceded on the Spanish throne, and it is not surprising that the French chose to support them.

Austria wants a stable rear, so why not the French? Spain is different from the Ottoman Empire, the French can't even pull the nail out.

It's not that you won't win if you don't fight, the key is that there is no way to use force. European countries may accept the end of the Ottoman Empire, but they will never allow Spain to be annexed.

Since it can't be killed, then it's good to win. Now Spain is also a mess, with a lot of internal problems. It is entirely in the interests of France to support a pro-French and weak government.

The reputation of Queen Isabella II of Spain has long been stinky, and even her son Alfonso XII has also suffered a loss of reputation. If you want to secure the throne, you cannot do without the support of the French.

With a weak and pro-French government, the French will not have to worry about threats from Spain for a long time to come.

Franz: "Since this is the case, then we are ready to end. Power generation to Hummel. Once Britain and France fully intervene, they will negotiate with the Ottoman Empire. The bottom line is to take our actual control area, plus Jerusalem.

On the Russian side, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also appeases it. How much profit they can get depends on the diplomatic ability of the tsarist government. "

Franz knew in his heart that this might be the last joint military operation of the Russian-Austrian alliance. According to the current international situation, the alliance between Austria and the Russians has already done more harm than good.

Although Alexander II was a man of great talent and strategy, he suppressed the forces of all parties in the country and completed the initial social reform, but his diplomatic performance was really uncomplimentable.

On the one hand, the historical burden of the Russian Empire is too heavy, and it does not adjust its mentality in time because of the pretension of the European hegemony;

It's not that it's wrong to pay attention to territory, the problem is that a lot of territory in the Russian Empire was grabbed, just like colonies.

When you are strong, no matter how much you pay attention to it. When it is declining, it is time to pay attention to the methods and methods, and it is necessary to make concessions when it is time to make concessions.

It is a pity that the tsarist government did not do that. The last Russian-Prussian war was defeated by the Russians, which was actually a diplomatic defeat.

If the tsarist government curbs its ambitions, if nothing else, at least Central Asia and the Far East will not have problems. If it weren't for the expansion of the tsarist government before the war, which made people angry, Prussia would not be able to draw allies.

It stands to reason that after being severely beaten by the society, the tsarist government should wake up and take the initiative to repair relations with neighboring countries. If there is any problem, we will deal with it slowly after we have defeated Prussia.

It is a pity that the tsarist government did not change its way of thinking, and regarded the return of neighboring countries to their homeland as an enemy invasion, and believed that they were the victims.

Needless to say, if you play like this, you will definitely not have friends. Franz is very suspicious of the next Russian-Prussian war, and the Russians will also be besieged.

Because of the relationship between the Russian-Austrian alliance, the relationship between Austria and these countries is also not good. Of course, Austria is strong enough, even if the relationship is not good, the treatment of foreign powers is still there, and it does not affect the trade with other countries.

Prime Minister Felix reminded: "Your Majesty, it is better to notify the Tsarist government first and give them a buffer time."

Russian-Austrian League

It's not over yet, and the things that pit teammates can't be done too obviously. The Near Eastern War can play the current situation, mainly because Austria is providing strategic materials.

Had Austria withdrawn from the war, the tsarist government could not have afforded this expense. The same strategic materials have different costs for different countries.

Relatively speaking, industrial powers with their own production capacity have lower cost of strategic materials, while agricultural countries that need to import have much higher costs.

Taking weapons and ammunition as an example, the cost that the Russians need to pay is one-third higher than that of Austria. This is still the cost in normal times. If it is in war time, it may even be half higher.

There are many factors involved, such as production costs, transportation costs, procurement costs, and the integrity of the bureaucracy.

If the Vienna government now joins the Russians, perhaps the Ottoman Empire does not need to pay anything, and the tsarist government can only withdraw its troops.

The main enemy of the Russians is the Kingdom of Prussia.

The war has been going on until now, and the Tsarist government's strategic goal of weakening the Ottoman Empire has been accomplished. Even if the Ottoman Empire is reborn from the ashes, it will not be able to threaten the Russian Empire for twenty years.

Remind the Russians, and without paying a price, Franz is naturally good at it.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Russians and passed on the news that Britain and France were getting closer. I think the tsarist government will understand."

If you don't understand it, you can't. Without Austria's money and materials, the tsarist government would not have the financial resources to continue the war.

...

Downing Street Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Gerston is in a very unhappy mood now, and said in a cold tone: "Raul, call the cabinet members to come over for a meeting".

Franz believed that the British made concessions on the issue of the Spanish throne in order to keep the Ottoman Empire. In fact, the London government did not make a decision so quickly.

Austria is a threat, and France is also a threat. No matter which one is allowed to become bigger, it will threaten the interests of Britain.

Unless there is no way, otherwise the London government will not compromise with the French.

After the British in the original time and space fell to the Allies, or the German Empire expanded its navy, they felt threatened, and they had been swaying until then.

Now Austria has not greatly expanded its navy. The size of the navy has always been lower than that of the French, and the total tonnage ranks third in the world.

From the standpoint of the British, both France and Austria are huge threats. However, these two threats have common weaknesses, and they must develop land power at the same time. On the European continent, the two countries also contain each other, and the pressure on the London government is not great.

...

Prime Minister Gerston asked: "Your Excellency, the Marquis, didn't you tell me that the French are busy fighting with each other and have no intention of participating in international affairs?

What's going on now, we have contained Austria for them, and the French have directly sent troops to interfere in the battle for the Spanish throne.

I really can't imagine how much sensation this news would cause if it got out. "

Marquis Maclean was also about to cry without tears. He really did not expect that the French in the infighting would suddenly make this move.

It has to be said that the French candidates have a good time. Britain and Austria had conflicts over the Ottoman issue, and the two countries had no time to intervene in the battle for the Spanish throne because of mutual restraint.

"Your Excellency, this is our misjudgment and underestimating the ambitions of the French. This is the end, now we must find a way to deal with it, or we will create the biggest joke of the century.

In the current situation, we can only choose one of two. Either join forces with the French to keep the Ottoman Empire; or join forces with Austria to force the French to give up interfering in the Spanish succession.

My personal suggestion is to keep the Ottoman Empire first, and the problem of Spain will grow in Japan. There are no permanent allies in politics. Today the Spanish government can be pro-French, and they can be pro-British tomorrow.

If the Ottoman Empire is destroyed, it will be difficult to resurrect it. Without the restraint of the Ottoman Empire, Austria can expand to Central Europe with all its strength, and the European balance is likely to be broken. "

There is another reason why the Marquis of MacLean did not say, and that is that the intervention in the Near Eastern War has already begun. If it stops now, it means that the intervention fails and will be criticized by the opposition party.