Holy Roman Empire

"The French are in a hurry!"

After receiving the news of the French release, Gladstone came to this conclusion.

Britain was at a disadvantage in the Afghan war, but it was not enough to panic the British government.

Even if the entire area of ​​Afghanistan falls, as long as the main frontline British forces are not annihilated, the British Empire will have the confidence to win the war.

There is no other reason, there is money in the pocket, and the waist is so stiff.The accumulation of the British Empire over a hundred years is no joke. If you put together the foundation, the Russians are simply not qualified.

Foreign Secretary George analyzed: "Up to now, the dream of the French who wanted a quick fight has been ended.

In the next war, the two sides will fight for comprehensive national strength.Although the French army is strong, in other areas, their disadvantages are too obvious.

Judging from the current situation, if the French cannot cross the Rhine in a short time and burn the flames of war to the German hinterland, their strategic advantage will be lost.

The next thing to greet them is Austria's endless counterattack.It can be said that the longer this war lasts, the lower the chance of the French winning the war.

According to the current intensity of the war, the French will not be able to fight for another three or two years at most."

Obviously, George is not optimistic about the French now.The overall strength of the two sides is too far apart, and the French have suffered too much.

It's just that the prestige of the French army is too great, and no one can guarantee that the French army will reverse the trend at a critical moment.

After all, similar cases have appeared many times in the history of the struggle between France and the Habsburgs.

After taking out a document, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Xiaozhi Childers smiled and said: "In two or three years, you may have overestimated the strength of the French.

In my opinion, it is a question mark whether the French can survive 1891 without the intervention of external forces.

Put aside the military issues first.Let us first calculate an economic account, and then reassess the strength of the French.

This is the data collected by the Ministry of Finance. In the last three months, the total import and export trade between us and the French has increased by five-fold over the same period last year.

Among them, the export trade volume with France increased by 6.5 times, the total import trade volume shrank by 64.7%, and the trade surplus was 64.86 million pounds.

This is only trade with us. If France’s trade with other countries is included, the French foreign trade deficit in the last quarter of 1890 will not be less than 120 million pounds.

If this war does not end, the French foreign trade deficit will continue to increase.

In particular, French Africa is about to fall. Once this raw material source is lost, the French need to import more materials.

In the past, the arrogant French wanted to fight for currency hegemony, and they had always promoted the franc to the outside world, and they had not many Aegis and British pounds in their hands.

At the current rate of consumption, it will not be long before the French's foreign exchange reserves will be exhausted.When the time comes, they can only trade with gold, and with their poor gold reserves, it will not last a few days.

This is still an ideal state, and the real situation may be even more serious.Since Napoleon III, the fiscal deficit policy that the French government has been adopting has long been a high level of debt.

With insufficient preparations, the war was launched in a hurry. I really have no confidence in the finances of the Paris government."

Is France rich?

There is no doubt that France, as the world's third largest economic power, is definitely a local tyrant.

However, the fact that France has money does not mean that the French government has money.If the front line goes well, the French consortium will naturally help, and vice versa.

Capital knows no borders. It's no joke.If nothing can be done, the capitalists will not be buried with the government.

The war is fighting for manpower, material resources, and industrial strength. In the final analysis, it is financial resources.

Supporting multiple fronts at the same time, France bears much more pressure than the world war in the original time and space, and there is no allies to help share it. It will be sooner or later that problems arise.

After a cursory glance at the report, Gladstone asked in confusion: "Why has the trade surplus with France increased so much? I remember that the trade volume has not increased so much?"

We must know that the volume of trade between Britain and France is not small, and it is understandable that the import trade has decreased. After all, the French are at war and do not have the time to produce a large amount of goods for export.

But the export trade volume suddenly increased by more than six times, that is a myth.

It is completely inconsistent with economic laws. Even if the French increased their imports of strategic materials because of the war, it is impossible to be so exaggerated.

No way, but production can't come!Even if the capitalists are desperately expanding their production capacity, it still needs time to buffer. How about just over three months?

"It's very simple, the prices of our export materials have gone up!"

The chancellor Xiaozhi Childers replied unhurriedly.

"The two countries, France and Austria, are looting materials internationally, and the prices of all materials have risen to varying degrees.

In particular, the price of strategic materials has basically doubled compared to before the war.The price of some scarce medicines has risen three or four times.

Of course, we and European countries have raised tariffs against France one after another, which is also one of the factors that promote rising prices."

This is the inevitable result of capitalists taking advantage of the fire.It’s just a bit too hard this time, but it’s not that unacceptable that there is one more Austria that is driving up prices.

The Prime Minister Gladstone asked intently: "What about Austria?"

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Xiaozhi Childers shook his head: "On the contrary to the French, Austria needs to import very few materials and is basically self-sufficient.

Even if it is inadequate, it is imported from Russia.Relatively less affected by the outside world.

Although prices have risen, the total trade volume between them and us has fallen instead of rising.

Of course, the interception of the French navy is also one of the reasons that hinder our trade with Austria.

In many cases, even if a contract is signed, it cannot be performed normally."

Gladstone frowned, the result was completely different from what he expected.It was originally hoped that France and Austria would consume each other's strength through this war and consolidate Britain's maritime supremacy.

The persevering plan did not change fast.Taking advantage of this war, Britain did slay France severely but ran away to Austria.

Regardless of how prices soared in the international market, the trade relationship with Russia and Austria is not significant.After all, the Czarist government is exporting industrial raw materials and Austria in exchange for strategic materials. If the price really rises, it will also rise together.

The wool comes out of the sheep, so the Russians naturally don't have to join in the fun.

Then France became the only victim. After all, it is easy to speculate on goods, but it is difficult to lower prices.

After hesitating for a while, Prime Minister Gladstone slowly said: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs negotiates with the French first. As long as the French are willing to exchange benefits, they can find a reason to lower the tariffs, or simply exempt them."

This is the greatest help Gladstone can provide to the French within its jurisdiction.As for whether prices can go down, it still depends on the French.

After all, capitalists are not easy to provoke. The government forces them to reduce prices, which will arouse public outrage.

After all, it was the French government, not the British government, who bought the supplies now. Gladstone had no need to offend people for them.

For bargaining matters, the French still have to fight against the capitalists themselves.How much they can gain depends on their bargaining power.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs George: "There is no problem with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, just to cut tariffs, this support may not be enough.

In order for the French and Austrians to consume their strength together, we must find ways to increase the economic strength of the French, or lend them directly.

While supporting economically, we must also limit the military strength of the French, and not allow the warring parties to have a power imbalance.To do this is very difficult."

Fearfulness is a true portrayal of the British government.On the one hand, most of the government's energy was held back by the war in Afghanistan, and on the other hand, it was necessary to maintain the balance between Faw and Austria.

I am afraid that something will happen and the situation will get out of control.It can be said that this is the most challenging moment for the British Foreign Office in decades.

Prime Minister Gladstone nodded helplessly: "Try it first! Later, adjust according to the actual situation.

Before the power of France and Austria is greatly consumed, we must act cautiously to prevent the situation from getting out of control."

...

At the same time that the Anglo-French negotiations started, Alexander III in St. Petersburg also ushered in his new toy-airplane.

Watching the beautiful flight queue performance, Alexander III felt particularly comfortable, and asked vigorously: "When will these planes be put on the battlefield?"

Watching the performance but watching the performance, Alexander III still did not forget the real purpose of introducing the aircraft.

It has been proved in the European War that an airplane on an airship is a massacre.In order to increase the chances of winning on the front line, Alexander III eagerly hopes that these aircraft can be commissioned earlier.

Secretary of the Army Ivanov: "Your Majesty, we don't have a pilot yet. Airplanes and airships are different, and the requirements for pilots are more stringent.

The Ministry of War has reached an agreement with the Austrians to help train a group of pilots, and preparations are currently underway.

If there are no accidents, after three months, our first aircraft brigade can enter the military service."

In just three months, a group of pilots will be trained.At this speed, the pilots trained will naturally not be elite.

Anyway, the enemy is just an airship, and there is no need to test the overall quality of the pilot. It is almost enough to be able to fly the aircraft and launch attacks normally.

For the remaining part of the knowledge, the pilots will slowly accumulate experience in the actual combat later. Anyway, now the Russian army must pay attention to efficiency, and it will be enough soon.

After hearing the "three months", Alexander III's smile suddenly disappeared.

"Why is it so slow, can't we speed up the progress?

We must know that the frontline battle situation is urgent, and if the plane is put into the battlefield as soon as possible, we will be able to take the sky from the British as soon as possible!"

Facing the request of the tsar, Marshal Ivanov's heart collapsed.According to the Austrians, it is very rare to be able to train a pilot within three months.

No matter how fast, the quality of the crash course is not high, and the quality may not be guaranteed.

Ivanov bit the bullet and replied: "Your Majesty, pilots are an emerging technology arm. We have no training experience in this area and can only learn from Austrians.

If you want to speed up, I personally recommend that the airship pilot be included in the training course, which should save a lot of time."

Whether it was a bad idea, Ivanov didn't know yet.Anyway, the czar had already asked, so he couldn't be without an idea.

As for the effect, let's talk about it then.Anyway, it is the emerging arms that the War Department is not familiar with the situation, and the mistake of judgment is justified.

………