Holy Roman Empire

In 1877, the three countries of Britain, France, Austria and Austria launched wars of expansion on the African continent, and Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Somali Peninsula were simultaneously caught in the war.

Compared with the sweeping of France and Austria, the British are in trouble.The famous "Warrior Emperor" became a nightmare for the British army.

The British army suffered an ambush and the troops suffered heavy losses shortly after the outbreak of war because of the advancing of the enemy.

Looking at the battle report in his hand, British commander Ismail shuddered.Less than a month after the war, there were more than 5,000 troops.The cannon fodder of the colonial army is not a problem, the key is that another British infantry regiment was killed.

"Rice buckets are all rice buckets!"

"You can't even beat a bunch of indigenous people. Britain's face has been lost to you. What's the use of the country to support you?"

...

A young officer explained bitterly: “General, Ethiopia ’s indigenous people are extraordinary. They also possess modern weapons and have received regular military training.”

"Snapped!"

Ismail Meng slapped the table and scolded: "It must have been done by the Austrian turtle and the Frenchman, no one is so shameless except them!"

Everyone did not answer this topic. It must be known that the first to help Ethiopia train the army was the British. After the last Ethiopian war, the two countries infiltrated the forces of France and Austria.

Ethiopia has a well-trained army, and the British also have a credit. If this layer of window paper is broken, the pressure of public opinion facing the government will be greater.

It is the best choice to push responsibility directly to France and Austria. It is not that they do not work hard, but the enemy is too "strong".

After venting a little, Ismail calmed down.

In this war, they prepared completely in accordance with the experience of the previous war.Obviously, this is outdated.

Today, unlike in the past, Menelik II was able to unify much of Ethiopia, and it was all along the way.How can a battle-hardened army be so annoying?

The Paris meeting did not come up with the results. Without the binding of treaties, France and Austria secretly stabbed the knife, which is normal.

Ismail is very skeptical that the commander of the Austrian army is the Faw commander, otherwise how could the British army lose to the indigenous people?

After counting the troops in his hands, Ismail reluctantly came to the conclusion that it is very difficult for the troops to win now, and even if they can win, it is a terrible victory.

If a war breaks out with the European powers, a "fiasco" is also acceptable. Now the enemy is an African native. If this kind of victory is really achieved, it is going to the military court.

Needless to say, in order to win, Ismail decided to seek help from the country.

...

In Paris, after several years of political struggle, relying on play balance, Napoleon IV gradually took control of the state power.

In this respect, Napoleon III's original plan was successful.Take advantage of the opportunities for power struggles of all parties, so that the imperial power can be successfully handed over.

There are advantages and disadvantages. After a few years of political struggle, the rest are old foxes accustomed to political struggle.

After taking control of power, it was impossible for Napoleon IV to replace these people. Infighting became the biggest problem of the French government.

Forcibly, Napoleon IV can only continue to play balance.He was powerless to fight against the bureaucracy.

Perhaps for the imperial power, bureaucracy is a good thing, but there is a premise that it must be limited to a range.

Once the bottom line is broken, it eventually becomes a disaster.Everyone stabs each other, how can the country develop normally?

This aspect can be seen from the economic development of France in recent years.Since the death of Napoleon III, the rate of economic development in France has declined sharply, and the Paris government has done little.

Inaction is better than indiscriminate behavior.In general, France is stable, but the economic development rate is slow.

This made it difficult for the arrogant Napoleon IV to accept it. After controlling power, he began to focus on economic construction.

The slowdown in France ’s economic growth rate is due to many reasons, and it is not the government that wants to catch up.

The biggest problem is the energy crisis, the domestic coal production is seriously insufficient, unable to meet the growing economic demand.

Not only the local coal shortage, but also the French African colonies.If not, it can only be imported, which undoubtedly raises the cost of industrial production.

As costs increase, market competitiveness naturally falls.In international trade, France's market share is falling sharply.

At its peak, France once accounted for one-fifth of the world's total import and export trade, and now it has fallen to 15.7%.

This is not over yet. The French's market share continues to decline. Perhaps it will not take long for their position as the third-largest trading nation.

Napoleon IV asked: "Are you sure that the opening of the Panama Canal can drive domestic exports of industrial and commercial products?"

It must be said that the French capitalists are great, and the emperor can do the job.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Allen: "Your Majesty, the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal are very close, and the opening of the Suez Canal had the last round of economic prosperity.

After the opening of the Suez Canal, domestic import and export trade has grown at a rate of more than 7% for five consecutive years, which has greatly promoted the development of the domestic economy.

Now the Panama Canal is the same. Once the canal is opened, the distance from the Atlantic to the Pacific will be shortened by tens of thousands of nautical miles, which will greatly stimulate the growth of domestic export trade."

Lying without blinking, I have to say that the politician's morality is low.The opening of the Suez Canal has indeed greatly stimulated the French economic development, but the Panama Canal has not been so effective.

From the map, we know that the biggest beneficiary of the Panama Canal is the United States of America, followed by Colombia, and other countries can only pick up some scraps.

It is not completely useless. If the Panama Canal was opened more than ten years ago, it is estimated that the French government will not have to give up Mexico.

Time cannot go backwards, and now the development of the Panama Canal will shorten the distance into the west coast at most.

In this era, the economic development of the west coast of the Americas, even if it stimulated exports, this growth is very limited.

Moreover, there is competition from other European countries.French industrial and commercial products are losing their international competitiveness, and there is simply no benefit.

Against this background, for the French, investing huge sums of money in the development of the Panama Canal is actually not worth the gains.

Napoleon IV shook his head: "No, my Chancellor of the Exchequer. You only saw the benefits for us, but not the consequences. In fact, we are not the biggest beneficiaries.

As you can see from the map, the biggest beneficiary is the United States of America.Suppressing the development of the American countries is a common national policy of the three countries of Britain, France and Austria, and the United States is the focus of suppression.

The three-nation covenant clearly stipulates that the three countries must maintain the balance of the American continent and prohibit unilateral enhancement of the strength of a particular country.

Regardless of whether we support the United States or not, this kind of enhancement of the United States' strength is a betrayal to the British Olympics.We cannot ignore long-term development for short-term benefits."

Obviously, Napoleon IV was not good at fooling, and this kind of flawed statement could not deceive him.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Allen: "Your Majesty, this is just a benefit on the surface, the potential benefit is actually greater.

The opening of the Panama Canal in the short term has the greatest benefit to the United States.The Panama Canal is under our control, and as trade increases, the economic lifeline of the United States also falls into our hands.

The benefits behind this are our greatest gains.In the future, we can use the Panama Canal to open the doors of countries in the Americas and grab more benefits for the empire.

The development of the Panama Canal did not directly enhance the strength of a certain country. This can only be regarded as a sideline. The British and Austrian countries will not be very good."

The potential benefits are indeed tempting. Now that the world is almost divided, the remaining independent countries are not easy to move.

Taking advantage of economic means has become a necessity for the future world.Controlling the economic lifeline of American countries will undoubtedly allow France to occupy a favorable position in the new round of competition.

Napoleon IV: "How can we guarantee the dominance of the Panama Canal? In the Colombian area, no matter whether it is British or Austrian, we will not win competition!"

This is the key to the problem. France has insufficient strength in Colombia and cannot guarantee control of the canal.

The three countries of England, France, Austria and France are allies, but this is just a combination of interests. When the interests are large enough, allies can also become enemies.

If Britain and Austria are allowed to join the canal plan, the dominance will change instantly.Napoleon IV would rather not do such a wedding dress for others.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Allen: "Your Majesty, in fact, this does not require the government to come forward. It would be better for private capitalists to do it.

We can't get the leading power if we cooperate with any country in the UK and Austria alone, but when there are more participating countries, the situation changes.

As the sponsoring country, we may not get the leading power, but it is not difficult to get the maximum right to speak.

The government only needs ... "

...

Effortlessly, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Allen finally persuaded Napoleon IV.Deep down in his heart, he had made up his mind. Anyone who likes to do this kind of thing will do it. Anyway, he is not going to do it anymore.

Although the capitalists promised great benefits, the risks involved were not small.If it were not for Allen who knew that Napoleon IV was interested in substitutions, and wanted to go back to old age, he would not cooperate with the capitalist.

To know that on the bright side, he is a representative of the grassroots class.With the restoration together with Napoleon III, the counterattack in life was realized.

The politician's personnel cannot be collapsed. As a civilian representative in the government, he ran to cooperate with the capitalists. Once the news was leaked, Allen would immediately fall into a state of betrayal.

It is precisely because of this identity that Allen could propose to Napoleon IV that it would not be so easy to succeed if he was replaced by a minister representing the interests of capitalists.