Once Pandora's box was opened, it could not be closed again. The dispute at the French command in Aswan was only a small episode. Similar incidents continued to occur in Egypt.
How to surrender reasonably became the focus of everyone's debate. This was not because the French generals were cowards, nor was it because they were unpatriotic.
The high-ranking officers knew the importance of Egypt, but it did not mean that the soldiers at the bottom could understand the importance of Egypt to France. In the eyes of most soldiers, Egypt was nothing more than a colony. It was not a big deal if they lost it.
Since they could not defend it, they might as well give it up. Anyway, France did not lose a small colony. It was much richer than Egypt, but life was still going on.
Without morale and insufficient strategic resources, this kind of war could not be fought.
Under such circumstances, the smart high-ranking officers naturally had to think of a way out and strive for a dignified ending.
Starting from June, the Austrians slowed down their offensive and changed to a long-term siege. The situation in Egypt also gradually eased.
The original military struggle gradually turned into a political one. At the negotiating table, the representatives fought with their words. The intensity was no less than on the battlefield.
Franz had personally instructed them to launch a political offensive. As a peace-loving emperor, he had to reduce casualties as much as possible.
Up until now, the Austrians had also paid hundreds of thousands of casualties. When the war ended, this number would increase.
The French in Egypt were already trapped. Time was on the Austrians' side. There was insufficient food, and the water source had been destroyed. The besieged French could not afford to drag on.
Rather than forcing the French to fight like cornered beasts, it was better to use political means to make them surrender and reduce their own losses.
As for draining the French's strength, it could be done in the prison camp. It was even easier than on the battlefield.
The effect of a political offensive was obvious. As time passed, more and more French soldiers realized that struggling was useless. More and more French soldiers put down their weapons and entered the prison camp.
The dust in Egypt was about to settle, and the European continent was also developing in a better direction. The French's expulsion increased the burden on Austria, but it also made the people of the German Region feel the same hatred.
Under the stimulation of the power of hatred, Bede's army, which was originally only second-rate combat power, also underwent a shocking transformation. If combat power was not enough, morale was used to make up for it. There were already some traces of elite troops.
This change was directly reflected on the battlefield in Central Europe. The anti-French alliance, which was originally at a disadvantage due to the lack of allies, gradually began to turn the tables.
Austria's hidden armored forces had not yet been put into use, and the total number of troops sent to the battlefield in Central Europe was only a million or so. It was not a full effort at all.
The gains on the battlefield were not much. What really made Franz happy was the political gains.
Due to the war, the idea of Germany was completely rooted in the hearts. Due to the influence of the war, the idea of Germany was deeply rooted in the people.
Under the threat of the French, the interest groups that originally boycotted Austria now changed their stance and sent representatives to contact the Vienna government.
Franz would have given Napoleon IV the Order of the Reunification of Germany in recognition of his contribution to the unification of Germany, if it had not been for the fact that the positions of both parties were at odds.
With the selfless help of the Government of France, the House of Habsburg had worked hard for hundreds of years to achieve the great cause of unification that they had failed to accomplish.
Up to now, the Government of Vienna had signed a secret treaty with 23 states and reached an agreement on the issue of rebuilding the Holy Roman Empire.
That's right, it was to rebuild the Holy Roman Empire. The word "new" in front of the name had to be removed in order to show that Shinra had a complete legal system.
As for the current North Germany, once the war ended, it would become history and disappear from this world.
…
Just as everything was progressing in the right direction, Franz suddenly heard a piece of unbelievable news.
"Are you sure you are not mistaken? The Japanese are going to invade Southeast Asia?"
It wasn't that Franz was making a fuss out of nothing, it was just that this news was too abnormal. If the Japanese and the French had formed an alliance to invade the Austrian Nanyang before the news of the fall of French Egypt spread, he could understand.
But it was different now. Ever since the Government of Vienna released rumors of complete occupation of Egypt, the American countries that had been encouraged by Britain and France had retreated.
Even Colombia, which had a lot of conflicts with Austria, had now stopped all anti-Austrian propaganda and never mentioned revenge.
Everyone was smart. Since the outbreak of the European war, the French seemed to be advancing triumphantly, but in fact, they had only achieved a series of tactical victories and were completely defeated in terms of strategy.
They couldn't break through the Rhine River defense line on the battlefield in Central Europe, were suppressed by Austria on the battlefield in Southern Europe, lost the battlefield in Africa, and now they had lost the crucial Egypt. No matter how one looked at it, it felt like the sun was setting in the west.
At this time, not to mention the secret support of the British, even if they personally intervened, they might not be able to turn the situation around.
In this context, who would dare to jump into the giant pit of France?
The Japanese weren't stupid. Even if the French promised more benefits, there was no reason for them to participate and be abused.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Yesterday morning, the Government of Japan announced that it would send troops to Southeast Asia on the grounds that the ongoing disputes in the Southeast region had harmed its own interests.
Immediately afterward, Britain and France issued an announcement inviting the Japanese Navy to enter Southeast Asia to help restore order there.
The current chaos in Southeast Asia is just a small interlude in the war against France. After the outbreak of the war, we and the French in Southeast Asia also shed all pretense of cordiality.
Affected by this, the social order in Southeast Asia was also broken. Pirates emerged one after another, and the once prosperous Strait of Malacca is now almost cut off from trade. "
There was no doubt that the chaos in Southeast Asia was definitely related to Austria. The rampant pirates were also inseparable from Austria.
Because of the war, the route from the Austrian mainland to Austrian Southeast Asia was basically cut off. Even if they could go, they had to make a big circle.
With the African continent and sufficient preparation in advance, Austria's demand for resources in Southeast Asia couldn't be met. The need for this route could be said to be negligible.
Based on the principle that they couldn't use it and couldn't let the enemy use it, they naturally had to destroy it. At first, they just blocked the Strait of Malacca with the Germans who occupied the Malay Peninsula and prohibited French merchant ships from passing.
Later, when they found that the effect wasn't ideal, they just changed their flag. In this day and age, there was no accurate satellite positioning, and it was impossible to determine the owner of the ship and its destination.
The best way was naturally to ban all transport of strategic materials. Unfortunately, this involved too many countries, and it was very easy to offend people. First of all, the British couldn't agree.
In order to reduce the impact, Austria had to play dirty. For a time, pirates gathered in Southeast Asia, specifically targeting the ships that transported strategic materials.
Since the outbreak of the European war, more than a hundred ships had accidents in Southeast Asia, with a total tonnage of more than 200,000 tons.
While Austria was stirring up trouble, the French weren't idle. It was too embarrassing to personally rob, so both sides each supported a group of white gloves and played pirate tactics.
Interestingly, the Fao and the French didn't have the biggest loss of ships, but the British had the most ships sunk.
Of course, this was only based on the flag. No one knew the real country that the ship belonged to, and no one wanted to know.
From the fact that the British didn't jump out, it could prove that among the ships that were looted by the pirates, not many really belonged to Britannia.
Now, letting the Japanese Navy enter Southeast Asia to encircle the pirates was fake. The goal was to help the French restore the sea route and attack Austria. It was even possible to directly invade Austrian Southeast Asia.
Although everyone looked down on the strength of the Japanese, in Southeast Asia, the Japanese also had the ability to influence the outcome of the Fao's battle.
Prime Minister Carr: "The situation in Southeast Asia is complicated. Our local naval power is limited, and it is very difficult to defeat the Franco-Japanese coalition.
Once the enemy launches a full-scale attack, we can only choose to temporarily avoid it. If we want to reverse this situation, we can only get new allies in, such as Spain, Portugal, or the Dutch.
This is almost impossible. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has tried many times. No matter how high our offer is, they don't have the guts to participate. "
Not counting the sleeping Empire of the Far East, there were only a few countries that had influence in Southeast Asia. The British couldn't be won over, so the Government of Vienna could only choose generals from the short. Unfortunately, these short people were also unwilling to participate.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg: "Maybe the situation isn't as bad as we think. If the Japanese want to enter Southeast Asia, they must first cross the Philippines, and it is best to take down Ryukyu as well.
Under the premise that the anti-French alliance has the advantage, as long as the Government of Japan isn't stupid, they won't choose to bind themselves to the French at this time.
Compared to us, the two old empires that were nearing their end were obviously easier to bully. As long as we show a certain amount of goodwill, the Japanese should make the right choice. "
…
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