Franz naturally wouldn't give up this opportunity to build up his reputation. Cracking down on the drug trade was a positive energy.
Others were afraid of being retaliated by opium dealers and had to be careful with their words, but he, the emperor, wasn't afraid!
On June 26, 1889, Franz issued the War on Drugs Proposal, calling on all countries in the world to act together and ban the drug trade.
The opium trade was the focus of the criticism. Franz didn't give the British any face and directly asked the Government of the United Kingdom to take responsibility for the spread of opium.
On the same day, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sent a diplomatic note to all countries in the world, inviting them to attend the International Drug Conference to be held in Vienna in a year's time.
It couldn't be helped that the time gap was long.
Communication was inconvenient these days, and it would take months for the news to spread all over the world. By the time the representatives from all countries arrived in Vienna, it would take at least a year.
The main purpose of convening the International Drug Conference was to strengthen the momentum and pressure the Government of the United Kingdom. Naturally, the more representatives attending the conference, the better.
Franz always liked to plan before taking action. Since he decided to crack down on the British opium trade, he naturally had to achieve results.
He didn't expect the Government of the United Kingdom to compromise, but at least explicitly ban the sale of opium in international law and limit the use of opium to the medical field, not to the health products that could be sold at will.
Franz's personal support naturally greatly boosted the confidence of those who opposed the opium trade. With the release of the proposal, Franz also became the leader of the international drug movement.
No one competed with him for this position. The opium dealers weren't easy to deal with. In the past hundred years, many people who opposed the opium trade died under their butcher knives.
Finally, someone who could resist the opium dealers' counterattack appeared, so everyone naturally pushed him to the front.
Especially for countries that suffered from the opium trade, the impact was even greater.
After waiting for so many years, there finally appeared a person who could challenge the British and carry the flag of prohibition of opium.
…
Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Since His Majesty issued the declaration, we have received support from Russia, Greece, Montenegro, Switzerland, France, Spain, the Nordic Federation, and some states in the German Region.
The situation is similar to what we expected. If nothing goes wrong, after the news spreads, there will be a few countries outside of Europe that will support us.
The opium trade was harmful to everyone. The rest of the countries did not take a public stand, mainly because they were afraid of reprisals from the British. Most of them also hoped that the anti-smoking campaign would succeed.
Once the international conference is held, it should not be a problem to pass a law banning the circulation of opium. "
The English plundered the wealth of the nations of the world through the opium trade, to the great detriment of all.
No one opened the lid, not only because they were afraid of retaliation from the British, but also because there was a group of interest groups in the country that benefited from the opium trade.
With the efforts of the interest groups, the voices of opposition were suppressed. However, all of this vanished with Franz's declaration.
Men of insight who opposed the spread of opium came forward, the dangers of opium were exposed, and the lid was broken.
Interest groups could influence the government, but they could not make decisions for the government. At the critical moment, the politicians naturally had to kick away the dirty foot-binding cloth.
With the exception of France, Spain, and the Nordic Federation, these countries that openly supported the smoking ban had one thing in common: they were heavily influenced by Austria, and basically not influenced by the British.
Even if they offended the British, it did not matter. After all, the tentacles of John Bull could not reach over, and they were not afraid of retaliation.
Frankly speaking, Franz was not surprised to receive the support of Spain and the Nordic Federation. The British plundered their wealth through the opium trade, so naturally they would oppose it.
The behavior of the French was quite strange. Don't forget that the British and French were allies, and the recent relationship between the Fao and the Government of France was very bad. Out of political considerations, there was no reason for the Government of France to support.
However, it was of no use. The Government of France jumped out to support, and it was one of the first countries to express its position. It was almost tied for first place with Russia.
If it were not for the support of the Government of France, Austria might not have been able to receive the support of so many European countries in such a short period of time.
"Is there a problem with the relationship between the United Kingdom and France? Recently, why is the Government of France always causing trouble for the British?"
It was not that Franz was sensitive. From the beginning of the alliance to the present, the Government of France had been causing trouble for the British. Of course, the Government of the United Kingdom had also dug a hole for the French.
Putting aside the alliance agreement, the relationship between the United Kingdom and France was more like enemies than allies.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg explained, "Your Majesty, the relationship between the United Kingdom and France is very complicated, dating back to the Middle Ages.
In this long period of time, the United Kingdom and France have been hostile most of the time. Even if they have formed an alliance now, there is a lack of the most basic trust between the two countries.
From the information we have collected, the alliance between the United Kingdom and France is more like a farce. The two governments have never regarded each other as allies.
However, as soon as there is a conflict of interest or one side loses its value, the alliance will immediately collapse. "
This answer made people very speechless, but thinking of the farce in the early days of the United Kingdom and France alliance in the original universe, Franz also understood.
Two hostile countries suddenly formed an alliance, but it was impossible to immediately become friends. At least for a period of time, the mentality of both sides could be changed.
Now, if you randomly stopped a person on the street in Paris and asked them who the biggest enemy of France was, the answer would be 99%: the British.
To investigate the reason, in addition to the hatred between the United Kingdom and France, the main reason was that the Russo-Austrian Alliance did not give them enough pressure.
After all, Russia and Austria had been in an alliance for many years. In the past decades, Russia and Austria, except for joining forces to destroy the Osman Empire, most of the time, they were fighting alone.
Especially now, the strategic focus of the Russians was moving south, and Austria maintained restraint on the European issue, so France did not feel any pressure at all.
Without the pressure of survival, why would they put down their pride and run to be the underlings of the British?
The alliance was entirely a need for interests, and the greatest value was to enhance political influence. It did not mean that the United Kingdom and France would really join forces to fight against Russia and Austria.
From this point of view, it was not surprising that the Government of France jumped out to support the anti-drug movement. They could even issue bonds to the Russians, which was funding the enemy, let alone simply expressing their opinion!
Franz nodded in agreement and did not continue on this issue. The worse the relationship between the United Kingdom and France, the better it was for Austria. He did not need to worry about the enemy at all.
After a pause, Franz continued to ask, "How far is the promotion of the Ministry of Agriculture's potash fertilizer? How much can the domestic food production increase this year?"
Agriculture Minister Holls, "The promotion of potash fertilizer is relatively smooth. Currently, most of the farms in the country have accepted the potash fertilizer, and many farms have already tested it.
After the autumn harvest, everyone can see the effect, and it can be fully spread out.
The food production will increase greatly, and it should explode next year. This year's food production will also increase slightly. "
This was the inevitable result. No matter how good the product was, before it was tested, everyone had no confidence in it.
Especially when it involved a family's income, no one could be sloppy. No one was willing to take the risk before they saw the effect.
Everyone was willing to use a piece of land to test the potash fertilizer, which proved that the Ministry of Agriculture had done a good job. When the effect was out, there would not be a need for the government to promote it, and the people would promote it themselves.
This was also a good thing. If the food production skyrocketed this year, wouldn't the Russians cry?
Who knew if the Tsarist government would still have the courage to continue the war with the British after the heavy losses in agriculture.
If the fire suddenly died, wouldn't Austria's investment go down the drain?
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