It turned out that life was still more important than money, and the richer a person was, the more he cherished his life. After weighing the pros and cons, everyone still felt that this protection fee had to be paid.
To be able to establish a foundation in an unfriendly foreign country, whether it was from scratch or inherited from the hands of an ancestor, it was not a simple person.
Using Austria's name, not only could they survive the immediate threat, but the most important thing was to avoid taking sides in this war.
Compared with the robbery of the Japanese Army, the political side was really fatal. After all, in Nanyang, where anti-Chinese movements often broke out, it was not the first or second time that they were robbed, and everyone had experience in dealing with it.
Even if they were robbed by the Japanese Army, the loss was only a part of the money on the surface. The political side was different. If they made a wrong bet, they would die.
Without the support of a strong country, overseas expatriates were nothing. Honorino wanted to make money and gain political achievements. How could the people present not want to find a backer?
With the precedent of Lanfang Company, Austria's reputation among the Nanyang Chinese was quite good. Taking money to do things, saying not to interfere in internal affairs, it was hard to find a second power that followed the rules.
The deal was reached, and a diplomatic note on behalf of the Government of Austria appeared in front of Admiral Yamamoto Aritomo.
If it weren't for the repeated reminders not to conflict with the great powers, and the navy watching from the side, Yamamoto Aritomo really didn't want to pay attention to this informal note.
Hundreds of thousands of expatriates increased overnight. Such a joke was obviously fooling people. Unfortunately, there was no way. The Government of Japan could not provide an excuse for the great powers to interfere.
The Tokyo government still underestimated the political impact of the attack on the Philippines. This was the world of white people, and Salted Duck was not as good at attracting hatred as Russia, so international public opinion was naturally inclined to Spain.
Even Britain and France, which invited the Japanese Army to enter Nanyang, now changed their faces. Not only did they not recognize them as a potential ally, but even the conditions that had been previously discussed were all invalid.
"Tell the Austrians and ask them to provide relevant evidence. As far as I know, there are hundreds of Austrian expatriates in the Philippines, and Chinatown is inhabited by expatriates from the Empire of the Far East. The difference in skin color is so obvious. Can I be wrong? "
It wasn't that Yamagata Youpeng wasn't magnanimous enough, nor was it that he coveted the loot. The key was that his plan had been disrupted.
According to the original plan, after conquering Luzon Island, he would use coercion and bribery to subdue the Nanyang Chinese and lay the foundation for ruling the Philippines.
"Commander, it's useless. There was news from the inside. Just last night, the leader of the Filipino Chinese, Chen Taoyue, had reached an agreement with the foreign affairs officer of the Austrian Embassy in the Philippines, Honorino. Both parties had signed a treaty by paying 350,000 DND in exchange for Austria's protection.
I've had dealings with Honorino, a vampire. Even when he was being unreasonable, he would still try to stir up trouble. He was extremely difficult to deal with. It's impossible for him to give up on the benefits that are already in his hands. "
The speaker was Yamamoto Kazuo, an intelligence officer sent by the Government of Japan to the Philippines. He was the one who personally presided over the attack and defense of Luzon Island.
Yamagata Utomo frowned, his eyes filled with murderous intent. If possible, he didn't mind sending someone to silence them.
Unfortunately, he could only think about it. There were too many people in the know, and the risk of silencing them was too great.
Moreover, evidence was not popular these days. For the Great Powers, suspicion was enough. Who cared about the evidence?
As a senior member of the Government of Japan, Yamagata Utomo also paid attention to the international situation.
According to the current situation, the Anti-French Alliance had a very good chance of winning. At the very least, they could end up with both sides suffering.
No matter what the result was, the Anti-French Alliance was an important force in the European world. In this context, it was undoubtedly unwise to offend the leader of the Anti-French Alliance.
After a pause, Yamagata Utomo said helplessly, "Forget it. They can't run away anyway. Order the troops not to enter Chinatown for the time being.
Yamamoto, your next task is very important. You must rope in the local powerful forces as soon as possible and form a colonial government to deal with the Spanish counterattack. "
They had just regained their national sovereignty. These days, the Japanese couldn't be strong, especially when facing the European powers. They didn't have the confidence at all.
…
In St. Peter's Castle, Alexander III was very conflicted. No one knew when it started, but the voice of the war in the country rose again.
There was no doubt that the war between Britain and Russia had just ended, and Central Asia was still in a mess. They definitely wouldn't start a war with the British; Russia and Austria were traditional allies, and the war hawks wouldn't be so stupid to attack their own people.
In addition to these two big bosses, only the French were qualified to go head to head with Russia. The target of the war hawks was the French this time.
The reason was very simple: to disrupt France, crush the Anglo-French Alliance, and cut off one of the British's arms in preparation for the future capture of India.
It was definitely a bit far-fetched, but it was barely reasonable. According to the logic of the war hawks, as long as the French fell, the future would be the British alone against the Russo-Austrian Alliance, and the two against one situation would be settled.
It was stable, but the problem was that Britain and Austria had to follow the script. If they defeated France, and Britain and Austria gave up, it would be embarrassing.
Even if Austria had a good reputation, the interests involved this time were too big. Alexander III expressed deep doubts about whether the Government of Vienna would be able to fulfill the promise.
It wasn't enough to just doubt. In recent years, the Russian Empire had won the Russo-Prussian War and the war in Central Asia, and the morale of the people in the country had recovered.
Other than the lack of money in the government's pockets, the arrogant Russian Empire had returned.
Strength was courage. Although the war in Central Asia ended in Afghanistan, the ambition to spy on India had already been born.
The senior government officials could see the hidden crisis, but it didn't mean that ordinary people could see the crisis. Otherwise, they wouldn't have ignited a firecracker and caused such a big explosion.
"The voice of war in the country is rising. Do you think it's a suitable time to declare war on the French?"
Alexander III asked.
The people were clamoring, but the Tsarist government was extraordinarily calm. Everyone knew that the voice of war was driven by Austria, but the voice of the people couldn't be deceived. If it weren't for the subjective inclination of the people, Austria alone wouldn't have been able to create such a big uproar.
This judgment wasn't wrong, but someone had been guiding and brainwashing public opinion for a long time, so it wasn't necessarily the case.
Of course, this couldn't be blamed on the Tsarist government. For a long time, the relationship between Russia and England and France wasn't good. The domestic media publicized the dark history of England and France because it was politically correct.
Since it was politically correct, it wasn't a big deal that some of the private goods were hidden. After all, newspapers and magazines also needed to attract attention!
It didn't matter if it happened once or twice, but after ten or twenty years, the quantitative change caused a qualitative change. Coupled with the war between England and France that had just ended, the people's hatred of England and France was even more serious.
Journalists also had to make a living. Since the people hated England and France, they naturally had to meet the needs of the readers.
In this context, Austria added more money to add fuel to the fire, and soon it ignited public opinion. The call to declare war on France suddenly rose.
For a country, public opinion could influence and even dominate the government's decisions. But in the conservative Russian Empire, the real decision maker was the Tsarist government.
Minister of War Ivanov: "Your Majesty, judging from the current situation on the European battlefield, the anti-French alliance has reversed the situation and the possibility of winning the war is very high.
If we join in, the French's defeat is only a matter of time. Even if the British were to personally participate, they wouldn't be able to turn the situation around. "
There was no problem. If they were to go to war with the French now, they would definitely win militarily. Even if the French suddenly cheated and pulled in all the neutral countries, they wouldn't be able to turn the situation around.
Although they didn't explicitly say that they wanted to go to war, everyone could see from Marshal Ivanov's expression that the military was eager for war.
Thinking about it, this kind of war was the most suitable for gaining military merits. The military naturally couldn't refuse.
Foreign Minister Oscar Jimenez analyzed, "Marshal is right. There is almost no military risk if we join the anti-French alliance now. However, we also have to consider the political impact.
Our participation will allow the anti-French alliance to easily win the war, and the post-war situation in Europe will be fundamentally reversed.
According to the intelligence gathered by the embassy in the German Confederation, Austria has reached an agreement with many states to restore the Holy Roman Empire after the war.
Legally speaking, this is Austria's internal affairs. As an ally, we can't directly oppose it.
If we don't interfere, an empire that spanned across Asia, Europe, and Africa, and is not inferior to the ancient Roman Empire in history, will appear.
There is no doubt that with this giant, the battle for supremacy in Europe will naturally come to an end. For a long time to come, the European continent can only play a supporting role. "
Supremacy in Europe was the goal that the Russian Empire had fought for for hundreds of years, but unfortunately, it ended in failure every time. If possible, no one was willing to give up now.
Finance Minister Alisher: "It's not in our interest for Austria to become stronger, but it's too late to find a way to stop it. From the moment Egypt fell, the French were destined to lose.
Whether we join or not, the final outcome can't be changed. In that case, why don't we prioritize the interests of the Empire?
Going to war with France doesn't mean that we have to send troops immediately. We can find an excuse to delay time, first consume the strength of the Austrians, and then send troops at the last moment to share the fruits of victory.
Although I don't know how much profit we will get in the end, we don't have to pay back the money we owe the French. Just this profit alone is worth declaring war against France. "
Regardless of the international situation or the balance of the European continent, it couldn't be compared to real benefits. The Tsarist government was really poor now, and it was good to save as much money as possible.
Just a declaration of war in name could erase more than a billion francs of debt. Alexander III really couldn't find a reason to refuse.
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