Looking around, Ito Hirobumi braced himself and replied, "Your Majesty, the war on the European continent this time is unusual. On the surface, France's expansion in Europe caused Austria's dissatisfaction and caused a war, but in reality, it is a battle for supremacy on the continent.
Britain and Russia were distracted by the war in Afghanistan and were unable to intervene in the European continent in the short term. This allowed the Fao and Russia to see an opportunity to defeat their competitors.
Up until now, France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Montenegro, and Asia were involved in the war. Although the remaining European countries were still watching, they did not rule out the possibility of being involved.
Although France was powerful, they were fighting alone. If the war continued and more European countries were involved, they would not be able to fight against a pack of wolves.
According to the intelligence from Europe, France had mobilized more than five million troops, and the anti-French alliance had mobilized more than seven million troops. If the Fao and Russia's colonies were added to the conflict, the number would increase greatly.
A war of tens of millions of people is not something we can participate in with our strength. In my opinion, before the war on the continent is decided, any strategy to go south is unwise. "
There was nothing wrong with it. From a political point of view, as long as the war was declared, even the countries that were there to make up the numbers had to be counted. Greece, Montenegro, and America, the three little beans waving the flag, were also members of the anti-French alliance.
They had also made important contributions to the anti-French cause. Although they did not achieve much in the military, their political contributions were not small at all.
Ordinary people could not see it, but the politicians understood it very well. To be able to define the war on the continent as a war against France's aggression, Austria relied on this group of little brothers to wave the flag and shout.
It was well-known that France was not favored in Europe. After all, Napoleon the Great had beaten everyone up. It would be a problem if 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 diplomatic failure of France.
Based on past experience, France would definitely be beaten up for being so arrogant. No one knew if there would be new countries involved in the war tomorrow. From a political and diplomatic perspective, Ito Hirobumi did not believe that France could win the war.
Not believing in France did not mean that the Government of Japan could bet. This was the first time in human history that tens of millions of troops were involved in a chaotic battle, not to mention Japan.
Although the Meiji Restoration was initially completed, Japan was still only a weak agricultural country. Compared to the top powers, the military strength that it had increased was still too far behind.
Just based on the hundreds of thousands of new soldiers in the country, their combat power could not even compare to Belgium. The Continental Army that swept across East Asia in the future was still a baby.
There was a huge disparity in the strength of the army, and the same was true for the navy. For a powerful navy like the Fao, two pre-dreadnoughts were enough to beat up the Japanese navy, and they had a double-digit number of these main battleships.
"The war on the European continent involves a lot of people, and we really don't have the right to be involved. However, it was not difficult to attack the Philippines. Spain had long fallen and did not have the qualifications to continue occupying the fertile colonies.
Britain, Russia, Austria, and France are all at war and have no time to worry about the Far East. This is the best time for us to act.
Don't look at the fact that the Spaniards still have the name of a great power, in fact, in the new round of military revolution, they have completely fallen behind.
According to the information collected by the Navy, most of the Spanish fleet deployed in the Philippines were sailing warships, and the only two ironclad warships were products from more than ten years ago. The Navy was confident that they could easily get rid of them.
The Suez Canal is now blocked. As long as we get rid of the Spanish fleet in the Philippines and wait for them to receive the news and send reinforcements, it will be at least six months later.
As long as the Army can occupy the Philippines within six months, the Spanish without a foothold is a toothless tiger, nothing to worry about. "
The Navy Minister Saigo Tsunemichi said lightly, as if being unable to participate in the war on the European continent was a matter of course, and he did not feel wronged at all.
The grievances involved in the war on the Japanese continent could be traced back hundreds of years, and the historical conflict between the "Choshu" and "Satsuma" directly continued.
In the face of the contempt of the Navy, the Army Minister Omiyama Aritomo was not to be outdone and said: "As long as the Navy can solve the enemy's fleet, our Army can occupy the Philippines within six months.
I am afraid that you can't finish the war quickly and waste precious time with the Spanish Navy. "
For the literati faction led by Ito Hirobumi, the Navy and the Army did not fight, which was absolutely bad news.
No matter how fierce the Japanese Army's battle between the South and North was in the future, the current strategic differences between the two sides were actually not big.
Before obtaining the springboard of North Korea, the Japanese Army's main force must be the Navy, whether it was south or north. This was the consensus of everyone.
On the surface, the current Japanese Navy seemed to be no match for the Beiyang Fleet, but this was the case from the perspective of the tonnage of the warships.
The Japanese rulers, who had not been blinded by victory, were still cowardly. Not only did they not dare to participate in the war on the European continent, they even feared their neighbor next door.
In order to ensure victory in the war, under the common interests, the Navy and the Army had a short-term alliance, which was also a matter of course. After all, Japan's current wealth was weak, and if they lost once, they would all be gone.
Seeing that the military's opinion was almost unified, the Minister of Finance Okuma Shigenobu hurriedly objected: "No, Spain is a European country. If we rashly attack a white country, who knows if it will cause a backlash from the European powers?
If it causes the intervention of other powers, even if we occupy the Philippines, we will still have to spit it out in the end, and even suffer from Spain's retaliation.
Although the Spanish have declined, their overall strength is still above us. Our only advantage is that the Philippines is too far away from them.
But if they have the support of the European powers, the situation will be completely different. They can easily form a large fleet to cause trouble for us. "
This was a fact, the Japanese Navy's warships were all bought from Europe, and it would be even easier for the Spanish, who were located on the European continent, to buy warships.
Moreover, Spain's shipbuilding ability was not weak, second only to the United Kingdom, the Fao, and the other three countries. It was in the second echelon in the world, and Japan, which had just started, could not compare at all.
In fact, Okuma Shigenobu still had something to say. The most popular naval theory these days was the "Century Navy" put forward by the British, and all countries were deeply influenced by it.
No matter how much the Spanish Navy declined, their ancestors were also rich, and the tactics and experience passed down were not something the new Japanese Navy could compare with.
On the surface, the Japanese Navy's strength far exceeded the Spanish fleet stationed in the Philippines, but if they really fought, it was also unknown whether they could take them down.
If they could not take them down in one battle, the Spanish would go around in circles to stall for time, waiting for their domestic reinforcements to arrive before fighting, and then it would be a big problem.
The Navy Minister Saigo Tsunemichi analyzed, "Okuma-kun, the interference of the Great Powers that you are worried about is not a problem at all. Spain and the British have a feud, and over the years, the British have been suppressing Spain's development, so it is impossible for them to support them.
Originally, the Spanish government followed the French, and Alfonso XII was supported by the French, but recently, there has been a change of power in Spain, and the pro-Austrian faction has taken over the government, and they have parted ways with the French.
If that is the case, it is not a big deal, it is just a change of ally. Unfortunately, while the Spanish were pro-Austrian, they did not really turn to Austria, and instead became fence-sitters.
Logically speaking, this European war is the best opportunity for Spain. As long as they send troops from the rear to stab the French in the eye, the anti-French alliance can immediately win the war.
With the two great powers of Great Britain and Russia on their side, if Austria wants to smoothly dominate the European hegemony, they still need a strong ally, and it is impossible for them to abandon Spain, and they can naturally share the fruits of victory with Austria.
Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the Spanish have already given up, and it is impossible for Austria to do their best to help them.
If we act now, we may even get the support of the French, and use the excuse of clearing the obstacles on the road south, and then attack Austria with them in Southeast Asia.
The Government of France has no choice now, they are fighting alone on the European continent, and their only British ally is still fighting with Russia. If they were not forced, they would not have come to us. "
Finding allies is not a foolhardy idea, and this is the era when the chain of contempt is the strongest. Under normal circumstances, European countries will not ally with small Asian countries, because it will be very embarrassing.
Ever since the French government tried to rope in the Japanese people, they had been looked down upon by others. This has become one of the reasons why the top officials of the Government of Japan are not optimistic that the French can win the war.
This is the cultural difference between the East and the West. For European countries, although face is important, it is not as important as substantial interests. In the East, the situation has changed, and face is often more important than interests.
Judging from their inherent concept, the top officials of the Government of Japan took it for granted that the French are about to be unable to hold on, so they are desperately looking for allies all over the world.
If Austria didn't directly ignore them and didn't even give them a chance to negotiate, there may be people in the Government of Japan who want to join the anti-French alliance and seize the opportunity to seize the Indo-China Peninsula.
Ito Hirobumi sternly scolded, "Saigo Kun, this is definitely a bad idea. Once we reveal our intention to move closer to the French, we will definitely encounter Austria's hostility.
Even if Austria is pinned down by the French and has no ability to directly interfere with our actions, it doesn't mean that they can't trip us up.
Don't forget that there is still the Dutch in Southeast Asia. If Austria takes the lead and instigates the Netherlands to intervene, we don't have the ability to deal with both countries at the same time. "
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