Holy Roman Empire

Looking around, Ito Bowen bit his scalp and replied: "Your Majesty, this European War is extraordinary. On the surface, it is the French expansion in Europe, which caused dissatisfaction in Austria and the war broke out. In essence, it is still a struggle for European hegemony.

Britain and Russia have been involved in energy due to the war in Afghanistan and are unable to intervene in Europe in the short term, allowing France and Austria to see an opportunity to defeat their rivals.

Up to now, seven countries in Europe, France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Montenegro, and Asia have been involved in the war. Although the remaining European countries are still waiting and watching, the possibility of involvement is not ruled out.

Although France is strong, they are fighting alone. If the war continues and more European countries are involved, I am afraid that they are also fierce tigers and wolves.

According to intelligence from Europe, the French have mobilized more than five million troops, and the Anti-French Alliance has mobilized more than seven million troops. If the confrontation between the French and Austrian colonies is added, this number will increase greatly.

A battle of tens of millions of people is simply not something we have the strength to mix.In my opinion, any southward strategy is unwise before the outcome of the European War."

There is nothing wrong with it. From a political point of view, as long as a war is declared, even the country that makes up the number is counted.Greece, Montenegro, and Amelia are also members of the anti-French alliance.

They also made important contributions to the cause of anti-law. Although they did nothing in the military, their political contributions were not small at all.

Ordinary people cannot see it, but politicians understand it very well.To be able to define this European War as a war of aggression against the French, Austria relied on these little brothers to follow the flag and shout.

It is well-known that France is not seen in Europe. After all, Napoleon the Great slammed everyone once, and the Bonaparte dynasty was not excluded.

However, they were directly boycotted by half of the European countries, and the remaining neutral countries were also dragging them down. In the eyes of Ito Hirobumi, this was an absolute failure of French diplomacy.

Based on past experience, the French are so powerful that they will definitely be beaten, and no one knows whether a new country will be involved in the war tomorrow.Judging from the political and diplomatic perspective, Ito Bowen is not optimistic that the French can win the war.

Not being optimistic about the French does not mean that the Japanese government can bet.A melee of tens of millions of troops, not to mention Japan, is the first time in human history.

Although the Meiji Restoration was initially completed, Japan is still only a weak agricultural country, and its increased military strength is still far from the top powers.

With these hundreds of thousands of new troops in the country alone, the combat effectiveness is not even comparable to that of Belgium. The Continental Army that crossed East Asia in later generations is still an infant.

There is a huge gap in the strength of the army, as is the navy.For a naval power such as Britain, France and Austria, two former dreadnoughts can hoist the Japanese navy once, and such battleships are in double digits.

"The European War is very involved, and we really do not have the qualifications to participate. However, it is not difficult to attack the Philippines. Spain has long since fallen, and it is not qualified to continue to occupy fertile colonies.

The four major powers of Britain, Russia, Austria and France are all at war, and there is no time to worry about the practice of the Far East. It is the best time for us to start.

Don't look at the Spaniards still holding the names of great powers. In fact, in the new round of military revolution, they have completely fallen behind.

According to the intelligence gathered by the navy, most of the Spanish fleet deployed in the Philippines are sailing warships, and the only two ironclad warships were also products of more than ten years ago. The navy is confident that they can easily be resolved.

The Suez Canal is now blocked. As long as the Spaniards’ Philippine fleet is killed and they can send reinforcements after they receive the news, it will be half a year later.

As long as the Army can occupy the Philippine Islands within half a year, Spaniards without a foothold are toothless tigers."

The Secretary of the Navy Xixiang Congdao said lightly, as if the inability to blend in with the European War was a matter of course, and he did not feel wronged at all.

The grievances involved in the land-sea dispute in Japan can be traced back hundreds of years, and the historical contradiction between the "Changzhou Clan" and the "Satsuma Clan" has directly continued.

Facing the navy’s contempt, the Secretary of the Army in Shanxian County was unwilling to show his weakness: “As long as your navy can solve the enemy’s fleet, our army will be able to occupy the Philippine Islands within half a year.

I'm afraid that you won't be able to make a quick battle, and you're wasting your precious time with the Spanish navy."

The navy and army have no bars. For Wen Shipai headed by Ito Hirobumi, this is absolutely bad news.

Regardless of how fierce the battle between the next generation of the Japanese military is to go from the south to the north, the current strategic differences between the two sides are not substantial.

Before getting the springboard of North Korea, whether the Japanese army is going south or north, the main force must be the navy. This is the consensus of everyone.

From a purely superficial point of view, the current Japanese navy does not seem to be an opponent of the Beiyang Fleet, but from the tonnage of warships.

The Japanese ruler, who has not been dazzled by the victory, is still forced to not only dare not participate in the European War, but he even has awe of the neighbors next door.

In order to ensure the victory of the war, under the common interests of the navy and the army, it is also a matter of course for the two armies to conduct a brief union.After all, Japan’s current wealth is weak, and it’s all gone after a single loss.

Seeing that the military's opinions were about to be unified, the Minister of Finance Shigenobu Takakuma hurriedly objected: "No, Spain is a European country, and if it attacks a white country, who knows whether it will cause a backlash from the European powers?

In the unlikely event that other powers interfere, even if we occupy the Philippine Islands, we will eventually vomit, and we will even be retaliated by Spain.

Despite the decline of the Spaniards, their overall strength is still above us. Our only advantage is that the Philippines is too far away from them.

But if European powers support them, the situation is completely different.They can easily form a large fleet to find our bad luck."

This is a fact. Japanese navy ships are bought from Europe. Spaniards on the European continent want to buy warships only more easily.

Moreover, Spain's shipbuilding capabilities are not weak, second only to the three countries of Britain, France and Austria, and are in the second echelon in the world. It is not comparable to Japan, which is just starting out.

In fact, Okuma Shigenobu still had nothing to say.The most popular naval theory these days is the "hundred-year navy" thrown by the British, and all countries are deeply influenced by it.

No matter how the Spanish navy fell, the ancestors would have passed it. The tactics and experience passed down are not comparable to the new Japanese navy.

On the face of it, the Japanese navy is far more powerful than the Spanish fleet in the Philippines, but if there is a fight, it is still unknown whether they can be won.

If they can't fight in a single battle, the Spaniards will go around in circles and delay time, and wait for the domestic reinforcements to arrive before a decisive battle. That will be a big trouble.

The Minister of the Navy Nishigo analyzed: "Kun Okuma, the interference of the powers you are worried about is not a problem at all. Spain and the British have long-standing grievances. The British have been suppressing the development of Spain over the years and it is impossible to support them.

Originally, the Spanish government was mixed with the French, and Alfonso XII was supported by the French, but recently, the power in Spain has changed, and the pro-Austrians have seized the power and parted ways with the French.

If this is the case, it is not a big deal. It cannot be an ally.It is a pity that while the Spaniards were pro-Olympic, they didn't really fall to Austria, instead they played the role of a wall.

It stands to reason that the European War is the best opportunity for Spain. As long as they send troops from the rear to pierce the French, the anti-French alliance can immediately win the war.

With Britain and Russia on the side, Austria needs a strong ally to successfully dominate the European hegemony. It is impossible to leave Spain behind. They can naturally share the fruits of victory with Austria.

Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the Spaniards have given up, and it is impossible for Austria to do its best to help them.

Do it now, we may even get the support of the French, as an excuse to clear the stumbling blocks on the road to the south, and then join them in attacking the Australasia.

The French government has no choice now. They are fighting alone on the European continent, and their only British ally is still fighting the Russians.If they were not forced to be helpless, they would not find us."

Finding allies is not messy. This year happens to be the era when the chain of contempt is strongest. Under normal circumstances, European countries will not unite with small Asian countries because it would be very shameful.

From the time when the French government wooed the Japanese, it has been underestimated.Became one of the reasons why the Japanese government was not optimistic that the French would win the war.

This is a cultural difference between the East and the West. For European countries, although face is important, it is not as important as the actual benefits; in the East, the situation has changed, and face often exceeds benefits.

Judging from their own inherent ideas, the Japanese government seniors took it for granted that the French were about to be unable to hold it, and they were desperately ill to seek allies all over the world.

If it were not for Austria to ignore them directly and not even give them a chance to negotiate terms, chances are that someone in the Japanese government would advocate joining the anti-French alliance and take the opportunity to seize the French Indochina Peninsula.

Ito Hirobumi sternly reprimanded: "Kun Nishigo, this is definitely a bad idea. Once we show our intention to move closer to the French, we will definitely encounter Austrian hostility.

Even if Austria is restrained by the French and cannot directly interfere with our actions, it does not mean that they will not be able to stumble us.

Don't forget that there are still Dutch people in the South Seas. If Austria takes the lead and encourages the Netherlands to intervene, we will not be able to deal with both West and Holland at the same time."