Holy Roman Empire

France and Russia have secretly contacted, and Britain and Austria have not broken contact.It's just that everyone is ignorant and pretending not to see it.

If it is true, then there will be no friends.

International relations in the late 19th century have become a mess.France and Austria are opposed on the issue of China and Europe, but on the issue of Central Asia the two sides are also in agreement.

Although their motives are different, the two goals are to provoke the Anglo-Russian war and weaken the strength of the competitors.

On the other hand, Britain and Russia are similar. Central Asia is about to fight. The two sides have almost the same position on the issue of China and Europe: let France and Austria pinch each other, and there can be no single situation.

...

London

Although it was known that France and Russia had secretly frowned, the news of the French issuing bonds for the Russians still caused strong dissatisfaction from the British government.

The Gladstone Prime Minister frowned and asked, "Issuing bonds for the Russians at this time, what does the French want to do?"

The timing is too sensitive. Earlier or later, it was no problem to issue bonds for the Russians, but it was too obvious to choose when it was time for Britain and Russia to turn their heads.

Foreign Minister George explained: “The French are retaliating. We promised to support their expansion into Central Europe, but when the French were seeking coal interests in the two countries, the government chose neutrality.”

Is it really just "neutral"?

the answer is negative!

If the British government did not promote the situation and did not secretly drag the French behind, the European anti-French wave would not be so easy to break out.

Perhaps in the opinion of the British government, there was no direct opposition, that would be the biggest support for France.

Secretly cheering up the two countries and passing on a warning to the French government that these behind-the-scenes behaviors are professional habits, and they are nothing.

Faced with such allies, the French government's response was not intense, and that was the problem.

Originally used for mutual use, no one really regards the other party as an ally, it is not surprising that they secretly pit one.

In fact, the British dug the pit from the beginning.Supporting the French ’s “expansion of sphere of influence” does not mean supporting the French ’s expansion of territory. These are two very different concepts.

Perhaps during negotiations, the diplomats will be vague, or verbally promised, in order to fool people.But what fell on the paper, absolutely did not support the French to expand their territory to Central Europe.

The French Empire is now very strong, and then let them expand to make up for the last short board, and there will be a new round of power surge.

Britain and France are separated by only one strait, so that France will continue to grow, and Britain will really not be able to sleep.

Prime Minister Gladstone rubbed his forehead. This explanation left him speechless, standing on Britain's stand and pulling the hind legs of the French without any problems.

The Anglo-French feud has been for hundreds of years, and it cannot be resolved with a single covenant.Containing the growth of France has always been the top priority of the British government.

Although Russia and Austria are also enemies, because of the distance, the British government's personal experience is not deep.

If it were not for the Tsarist government to target Central Asia, threatening India ’s security, the two countries would not directly face each other.

After hesitating for a while, Prime Minister Gladstone asked: "Find a way to find something for the French.

They should not be allowed to sit idle, lest they hinder us, and at the same time they must contain Austria."

To meet these two requirements, France and Austria can only pinch each other.Provoking divisiveness has always been a good thing for the British.

With the current relationship between France and Austria, it seems that there is no need to continue to provoke, as long as the conflict is intensified.

After thinking about it, the Foreign Secretary George nodded: "No problem, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will find something for them as soon as possible.

Only in this way, the two countries were completely pushed to the side of Austria.With the ability of the Habsburg dynasty to pull allies, the French may be at a loss."

Fau was pinched for the two countries, and once the contradictions escalated, the two countries, which are the center of the storm, could not escape.

Even because the French government did not pay attention to eating, it caused their international reputation to drop again. As their neighbors, it is impossible not to worry.

Against this background, once the situation in Europe is tense, even if Austria does not move, European countries will push Austria to check out the French.

Without the outbreak of war, France and Austria will fight, and the weak French government will definitely suffer.

As for the real fight, George cannot judge the result.After all, the French are very famous, and Austria has a lot of strength and many potential allies.

Prime Minister Gladstone sneered: "How can we know our importance without letting them suffer?"

As soon as the covenant was concluded, he hurriedly reached out to Central Europe without even knowing a good time.

The French have been so smooth over the years that they have become oblivious and arrogant."

...

Compared with the British government, in fact, Franz is more nervous about the closeness of France and Russia.

This is determined by the geographical location. Austria is sandwiched between France and Russia. Once France and Russia are close, Austria is strategically in danger.

But with some more historical lessons, Franz chose to remain unwilling for a while, pretending not to know anything.

Not only did it not interrupt the loan to Russia, to retaliate against both ends of the tsarist government's snake rat, but also suppress the government's voice to Russia.

"The Russians have come to an end temporarily. No matter what the tsarist government has done, now we have done nothing.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can properly express its dissatisfaction. All other issues will be discussed after the outbreak of the Anglo-Russian War."

There must be some accounting after autumn, but the prerequisite must be autumn.

If Austria is now attacking the Russians, how can the tsarist government have the confidence to compete with the British for the Afghan region?

If the Russians lose the war, they will definitely suffer heavy losses, and if they fail, the national games that have gathered in recent years will be wiped out.

Do not look at the current Russian empire seems to be very powerful, but do not forget the previous wars, this old empire has been hit hard.

The loss of millions of young and strong cannot be recovered in a day or two.

In comparison, the population growth rate of the Russian Empire in the last three decades shows how much damage the war has done.

Especially after the Second Russian-Russian War, the Russian Empire has experienced negative population growth for many years, and now it can only keep the population from declining.

Against this background, if another 8.8 million is filled in Central Asia and the war is just lost, the foundation of the Tsarist government will be shaken.

Of course, winning the war is a trivial problem.Victory can suppress all dissatisfaction and win the Afghan region, and the tsar government will work together to fight for India.

The problem is that it is easy to win Afghanistan, and it is not that simple to digest the Afghan region.

Unless the indigenous migration policy of Austria is followed, all locals will be moved away.

Otherwise, there will be guerrillas looting inside and outside the eyes of the British, the Russians will never be at peace.

Austria should suffice as long as it is appropriate.Although such an ugly ally is a bit mean, it was also the Russians who first hooked up with the French.

...

Secretary of Agriculture Halls reminded: "Your Majesty, according to the information collected by the Ministry of Agriculture, the food self-sufficiency plan of Britain and France has achieved staged results.

Especially the French ranch plan. Since the French government replaced a group of colonial officials, the agriculture in French Africa has begun to develop rapidly.

If there is no accident, the staple food gap in France this year will be reduced to less than 1.8 million tons, and it will not take long for them to achieve food self-sufficiency.

However, it is said that the operating costs of farms developed by the French in Africa are relatively high, and only a small number of farms can achieve breakeven. Most farms rely on financial allocations."

This result did not surprise Franz.

The lack of food in France is mainly due to the fact that the food in the headquarters is actually enough for Italy.

In order to reduce foreign exchange expenditures, in recent years, it has set up farms in Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and other regions to make up for the food shortage.

As for the high operating costs of the farm, that is the doomed result.There are already few areas in French Africa that are suitable for agricultural development.

Many places have a master, can't you get rid of all the masters?Know that the owners of many local lands have long since become French colonists.

In addition to robbing part of the indigenous land, most farms were developed by the French government. Many farms are not the best natural conditions, can only be said to be able to pass.

If the water conservancy facilities are perfected, the following problems should not be too big.However, this will take time, and it can't be done in a short time.

In the short term, these farms have to depend on the sky for food, and naturally the grain output will not be much higher.Coupled with the management of the bureaucrats, a lot of additional costs are added, and it is normal operation to lose money.

Franz nodded: "The time is almost up, and it will take time to promote potash fertilizer. There is no need to keep hiding."

At this time, the promotion of chemical fertilizers, the biggest loss is certainly not Austria.

Affected by the decline in international food prices, Austria has been reducing the area of ​​staple food cultivation in recent years.

In addition to satisfying domestic consumption, it has been rarely exported.Domestic grain processing enterprises have also begun to vigorously import Russian grain.

In a sense, in the context of falling international food prices, the Russian economy is able to pick up, which is also caused by Austria ’s food production reduction policy.

It's just that this good day will soon be gone.No matter how to reduce production capacity, Austria's agricultural volume is here.

Even today's potash fertilizers are not as effective as those of later generations, and grain output has only increased by five percentage points, which is enough food for six to seven million people.

The increased output must be digested by the market.

Against the background of British and French autarky, not only has the international food market not grown, but it has gradually shrunk.

Austria must definitely take care of itself to increase domestic grain production. It is difficult for Russians to find buyers for grain.

The actual situation should be worse. Potash fertilizers cannot be kept secret, and all European countries will follow suit.

As the food production capacity of all countries increases, the international food market will shrink sharply and prices will continue to fall.

In a sense, this is used to smash the pot.Austria can find ways to increase food consumption and survive the agricultural crisis, and the Russians are out of luck.

As soon as the Anglo-Russian War was over, the agricultural crisis broke out. This meant that for many years to come, the tsarist government would have to tighten their belts to live their lives.

Franz can swear to God that this tactic of killing the enemy one thousand and self-destructing one hundred is definitely not directed at allies at first.

Originally planned, when the Anglo-French food self-sufficiency plan was completed, it began to smash the pot, dragging everyone into the era of food cost.

However, the plan didn't change fast, and when it was implemented, it was suddenly discovered that it seemed that the Russian Empire was the biggest victim.

There is no other reason. Anglo-French and Austrian are industrial countries, supported by domestic industrial chains. Only the Tsarist government relies heavily on agriculture.