Chapter 403
After careful consideration, the London government made a decision to block the Baltic Sea. In fact, after the Berlin government agreed to take orders from the Russians in Britain, opposition to the Baltic blockade in Congress disappeared.
Anti-Russian has always been the national policy of the British. If it does not harm everyone's interests, it is natural that no one will object to hitting the Russians.
On January 11, 1866, the Royal Navy blocked the gates of the Baltic Sea on the grounds of eliminating pirates.
Blockade of the Baltic Sea does not exist, but considering the safety of passing ships, the Royal Navy recommends that everyone suspend access to the Baltic Sea.
Opinions are given, and whether to listen or not is entirely voluntary. If you are robbed by pirates, don't regret it.
The threat of "piracy" is terrifying, and after two Russian merchant ships suffered an accident, everyone wisely chose to suspend this maritime trade route.
For a time, the British Foreign Office was filled with protests from various countries. The Foreign Secretary, Sir Raislin, ordered cold treatment, and then there was no more.
It was in Fao's interest that the Russian-Prussian war continued. Without a big country coming forward, all a small country can do is protest.
In Franz's view, the strategy of adding fuel is the most consuming way of playing. The Russian Empire could not exert its military superiority and directly crush Prussia, and it has failed strategically.
Politicians see things differently from ordinary people. Winning a war is not necessarily a victory, and losing a war is not necessarily a failure.
There are too many classic cases in history. Ordinary people seem to be the protagonist who floated and stumbled. However, if you carefully analyze the gains and losses behind, you will find that the final winner is actually the loser in the front.
It's just that in modern times, with the awakening of the people and higher requirements for the ruling class, the cost of this kind of gameplay has gradually increased, and it was finally abandoned.
The most direct benefit of the British blockade is that the trade volume between Russia and Austria has increased again. Now the tsarist government has no choice but to be such a seller.
Franz doesn't care how much the price has risen. Anyway, the tsarist government now places orders directly with the capitalists, and whatever price is negotiated is the price.
Anyway, now that the Tsarist government has money, the bureaucrats will find a way to spend it. Material prices rose, the profits of the capitalists increased, the rebates of the bureaucrats increased, and even the taxation of the Vienna government increased.
This is a win-win situation, hello, me, and everyone.
The intelligence chief Tyron handed over a document and said: "Your Majesty, this is the latest European strategy of the French."
Without winning the Crimean War, Napoleon III was very enlightened, always brainstorming when formulating strategies.
The benefit of brainstorming is that it reduces the error rate and also increases exposure. Anything is no longer a secret once more people know it.
Although this strategic plan of the French is not well known to everyone, there are dozens of people involved in the formulation, so it is not surprising that it was leaked.
Of course, this may also be a smoke bomb deliberately released by the French. True or false strategies, almost every country has a dozen plans.
No one knows which strategy is true before it happens, so they can only collect as much information as possible, and then make a judgment.
Not even Napoleon III himself could guarantee which plan would be their real strategy for the future.
There are usually several options, and the most suitable strategy will be selected according to the changes in the international situation.
This choice is subject to change at any time, unless it is a long-term national policy, which is less likely to change, and any other strategy is just one of the alternatives.
After reading it carefully, Franz had to admit that the French were ambitious enough.
Both want to use the Russian-Prussian war to pull the Russians down from the position of world hegemony, and they are also plotting the Rhineland region of the Prussians.
This is only the first step of the strategy, followed by plans to annex Belgium, the German Federation west of the Rhine, and even prepare to annex Italy.
In his heart, Franz had already made a cross for this grand strategic plan. Such a strategy can only be implemented, if it is the Napoleonic era, it is almost the same.
Apart from using the Prussian-Russian War to pull the Russians down from the continental hegemony, there is nothing that can be implemented.
The partition of Prussia by the "Russian, French and Austrian" countries was a fallacy from the very beginning.
The tsarist government invested so much in this war, and even Poland could not recover the cost of the war. If the French get the biggest cake, will Alexander II be able to balance his heart?
Even if he is open-minded, he can't do the things of the enemy! Dividing the spoils is never an easy job, especially when it is with the enemy.
The French gained the Rhineland region, and their industrial development potential has at least doubled, while the Russian Empire, which is generally owned by Poland, can only be considered better than nothing, and it will not increase its strength at all.
Not to mention Austria, the benefits of dividing up Prussia are directly negative. Let Franz choose, he would rather fight a war with France than accept this kind of crap.
From the perspective of income: the mere 100,000 square kilometers of land directly puts Austria in a strategic position. The value brought by this part of the territory has not increased as much as the defense expenditure.
Politically: Once he participates in the partition of Prussia, it means that Franz gives up his political status as a German communist, and the legitimacy of the throne of the new Holy Roman Empire will be seriously challenged.
This is different from the German Empire in the original time and space. They did not have the title of co-lord. So William I did not
To become the German Emperor, and the second best thing to do is to become the German Emperor.
Legally, the German Empire was a republic, and the emperor was just a hereditary president. Even if William I got the title of emperor through the "Emperor's Declaration", his actual identity is still only the president of the Federation.
This was also the main reason for the defeat of the First World War and William II's loss of the throne. You must know that the Habsburg dynasty has struggled for a while. If the last emperor Karl did not do stupid things one after another, he could still keep a few crowns.
Jurisprudence is different from others. Once lost, it cannot be recovered. Franz's co-dominant status stems from the unification of the German region. Once the German region is divided with other countries, will the people still accept him as the emperor?
Franz could not allow this to happen, even for his own sake.
"Transfer the intelligence to the cabinet, and let them arrange for an analysis of the French's previous strategies to see what the French are hiding." Franz ordered
These messy strategies are actually valuable, and no one can guarantee that these strategies will not become reality.
At least compared with the German unification plan of the original time and space Bismarck, the success rate of the French's strategy is much higher, and the original time and space Bismarck's whimsical plan succeeded.
There is also the Italian strategy that Cavour fiddled with, and the Japanese strategy formulated by Ito Hirobumi, which is less likely to succeed than the French plan.
With so many successful cases, Franz naturally dare not take it lightly. After all, the French are very powerful. As long as Napoleon III doesn't run to the front line to command blindly, they are one of the most powerful empires in the world.
In theory, with so many plans, except for Austria in the Rhineland region, which cannot be compromised, it is possible for other regions to realize the exchange of interests.
The minerals in the Rhineland region are very important to the French, and in fact it is not irreplaceable. Belgium is one of the substitutes.
As long as the coal supply is guaranteed for decades, with the development of maritime transportation, the cost of shipping will continue to decrease, and the cost of mining mineral resources from overseas colonies and transporting them back to the mainland is also within the acceptable range of the industry.
Even the French simply found an opportunity to strike first, caught Austria by surprise, and seized the Rhineland region from the battlefield.
Franz never doubted the possibility, the Austrian staff had hundreds of plans for an attack on France, and the numbers were growing, and it was not surprising that the French had the same idea.