On September 11, 1890, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Greece, and Austria closed the trade channel with France at the same time, and the material embargo officially began.
For a time, the European continent was in a state of panic. Everyone knew that this was a sign that a storm was coming, and the European war was probably inevitable.
Persuade the French to give in?
The Anti-French Alliance's material embargo directly forced the Government of Paris into a corner. Taking a step back wasn't the sea and the sky, but the abyss of hell.
Persuade the Anti-French Alliance to calm down?
That was even worse. The Anti-French Alliance was the victim. If the French hadn't been ambitious enough to invade Central Europe, this wouldn't have happened at all.
The public's concern was that the European war would be a disaster, not how much they loved peace. True pacifists couldn't be in power.
In the Palace of Versailles, Napoleon Iv, with dark circles under his eyes, once again held a political meeting. There was no other way. Waiting was the most worrying thing.
With the development of the situation, the original intention to gain benefits from Belgium and Germany had now evolved into a decisive battle to determine the future fate of France.
Foreign Minister Karel Kadlec: "Austria has begun to form an anti-French alliance, and has now drawn in Belgium, the North German Confederation, Greece, and Montenegro.
Switzerland and the Netherlands have begun to waver, and anti-French voices in the Spanish government are rising. The mainstream public opinion in Europe is mostly inclined to the anti-French alliance.
Recently, Austria has strengthened its ties with the Nordic Federation and Portugal. If we continue to delay, the situation will only become more and more disadvantageous for us. "
Imagination was the most terrible thing. The Government of Austria frequently contacted politicians from various countries and announced that it was to strengthen business cooperation.
It would have been better if the Government of Austria didn't explain. Karel Kadlec couldn't help but be suspicious of this explanation.
In the era of free trade, most governments didn't interfere with economic operations, so there was no cooperation at all.
In fact, although Austria had frequent contacts with other countries, they didn't sign a treaty, at least not on the surface.
Karel Kadlec didn't know the specific content of the negotiations, but he still received the news that the talks were very pleasant.
Whether it was deliberately to disgust France or really intended to join the anti-French alliance, it wasn't a good thing for the Government of France.
Prime Minister Terence Burkin: "Not only are we having trouble with diplomacy, but we're also having trouble with the procurement of strategic supplies.
In the short span of a few months, the prices of the strategic resources we planned to purchase almost doubled, and the prices of some commodities even doubled.
Many countries have raised tariffs with us in the name of stabilizing domestic prices, which has greatly increased the procurement costs of enterprises.
Affected by the shortage of raw materials, some domestic enterprises have begun to reduce production capacity, which is very disadvantageous to the upcoming war.
All signs point to the fact that all of this is being manipulated by Austria. They are trying to use these methods to defeat us outside the battlefield! "
The war between the superpowers was not only fought on the battlefield, but it was also fought outside the battlefield.
In this regard, France was undoubtedly at a disadvantage. Austria's foreign trade volume was several times that of France, and its domestic market far exceeded that of France.
The political and economic influence of both sides were no longer on the same level. Coupled with the influence of historical issues, it was almost inevitable that the Government of France would be at a disadvantage.
Napoleon Iv frowned: "It can't be that serious. If the European countries really supported the anti-French alliance, they would have joined the blockade against us long ago.
As long as they all joined in, it would be impossible for us to go against all the countries. Abandoning the Central European strategy is inevitable.
The current situation is more like Austria single-handedly manipulating the other countries to prepare a show for us in an attempt to make us lose our bearings. "
After being the Emperor for so many years, Napoleon Iv was no longer a newbie. There were no secrets in politics, and the political diplomacy of countries revolved around interests.
From the perspective of interests, one could roughly guess what the other countries wanted to do by analyzing what was the most beneficial for a country.
Without a doubt, it was in everyone's best interest for Fao and Austria to suffer losses on both sides. Under such circumstances, other than Peter and the other two countries involved, who could not avoid it, everyone else was just there to watch the show.
Other than Greece and Montenegro, who had no choice but to support Austria, the rest of the countries had no reason to join the anti-French alliance.
In Napoleon Iv's eyes, what the other countries were doing now was adding fuel to the fire, cheering for the Austrians, and strengthening their determination to go to war with France.
Economic Minister Erza: "Your Majesty, we can't delay any longer. By the time we finish preparing for war, the enemy will also finish preparing for war.
We are not a member of the free trade system, and in terms of purchasing strategic materials, we are at a disadvantage. Our domestic economy is also slightly inferior to Austria, and it is not suitable for a protracted war with Austria. "
Napoleon Iv understood that it was not the ministers who were anxious, but the capitalists in the country who were anxious.
After confirming that the Government of France was going to implement the Central European strategy, the capitalists all started to produce at full speed.
As time passed, the goods in everyone's hands increased day by day, and the liquidity decreased day by day. The war still had not broken out, and everyone had to be anxious even if they did not want to.
If there was a major change midway, and the war suddenly stopped, or if it dragged on for another three to five years, everyone would be finished.
The goods that were sold were the money, and the goods in their hands were not assets, but liabilities, because storage also had costs.
The government could think about purchasing in advance, but it was impossible to achieve. The reason was very simple: the Government of France did not have that many warehouses to store goods.
In this context, if the capitalists wanted to use up the inventory in their hands, they could only let the war break out earlier.
The ministers were clamoring to start the war in advance, not because they were bought over, but mainly because they knew that they could not stop it.
Either the government would take the initiative to start the war, or the capitalists would start the war, and no one knew how the situation would develop.
Before Napoleon Iv could make a decision, the attendant hurriedly shouted outside the door, "Your Majesty, urgent military news from the frontline."
The situation in Europe was already very tense, and no one would be surprised even if the anti-French alliance attacked first.
Hearing the urgent military news, Napoleon Iv naturally did not dare to neglect it. "Bring it in quickly!"
…
A moment later, Napoleon Iv said slowly, "There's news from the frontline. Three soldiers were suddenly attacked by the enemy when they were patrolling at the border between us and Belgium. Two are dead, and one is missing."
This was not the first time there had been conflicts at the border, but the situation of people dying had never happened before.
Due to the tense situation, the security at the border had already been strengthened. The soldiers patrolled in groups, and the distance between each other was not too far.
Under normal circumstances, if there was an accident, the surrounding troops would immediately arrive. It was understandable that the people were dead, but the missing people were intriguing.
As long as the people of Belgium and Germany were not stupid, they would not do such a strange thing. However, at this critical juncture, no one would care that much.
Whether it was reasonable or not, the Government of France wanted to start a war, and this was a ready-made excuse for war.
Even though he knew that there was a problem, Napoleon Iv could not investigate further. Otherwise, if he found out something, it would be the Government of France that would be humiliated.
However, it was inevitable that they would be unhappy, as the dead were French soldiers. They did not die on the battlefield, but because some people wanted to start a war in advance, they were met with an unexpected disaster.
Everyone lowered their heads in silence. They were also in a difficult position when something like this happened!
It was fine if it was earlier or later, but not now.
Everyone had just lobbied the Emperor to start a war, and immediately there was a pretext for war. No matter how they looked at it, it seemed like they were forcing the Emperor to abdicate.
This kind of misunderstanding was very fatal in politics. If it were a stronger Emperor, they could go home now.
Under the sharp gaze of Napoleon Iv, Prime Minister Terence Burkin braced himself and said, "Your Majesty, for this to happen, we should immediately hold Belgium accountable.
Order the Kingdom of Belgium to hand over the murderer within 48 hours, release the captured soldiers, and compensate us for our losses.
Or … Or else … "
Looking at Napoleon Iv's increasingly ugly expression, in the end, Prime Minister Terence Burkin could not continue speaking, and his voice became intermittent.
As if feeling that it was about time, Napoleon Iv retracted his murderous gaze and said coldly, "Do as the Prime Minister says, but it's best not to cause any more trouble."
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